By Your Side: Tales of the Ninja
by TexasBean
Summary: Life goes on for the Shinobi of the Elemental Nations. Various stories revolving around how a wandering Swordsman inadvertently interfered by taking two Jinchuuriki under his wing and the resulting aftermath. A companion piece to BYS.
1. Eternal Regrets

**Heya! If you're here because you follow BYS, welcome! If you're here because the summary looked interesting, welcome all the same but you will be confused. I recommend reading **_**By Your Side is Where I Belong.**_

**Basically, this story is going to revolve solely around the Elemental Nations with only brief mentions of **_**One Piece **_**characters when it calls for it. Things are vastly different now, with Konoha, Suna, and Kiri having an alliance; Naruto and Gaara being gone; along with several other changes.**

**Warnings: Mentions of violence, torture, and awkward circumstances because consensual adults sometimes like to move about like beasts. **

**0000**

_Chapter One: Simply Walking Into Tents without Knocking First Leads to Eternal Regrets_

[***]

_The horrors of war are not just on the battlefield…_

[****]

The Hokage, Kazekage, and Mei's forces were gradually coming together. Tsunade had her hands full with several Shinobi who were going to be learning the healing arts from her. Five of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were there; as one of their own had been killed in the failed coup, and the other had betrayed Kiri some time ago.

Hiramekarei would be seeking a new wielder, and Zabuza wasn't sure who among their ranks would be able to wield the infamous Blade. Mei believed a boy named Chōjūrō would be able to wield it; even though he seemed like a nervous mess most of the time, and didn't really look at people when he spoke to them.

Mei had a good feeling about him – that he had a strong and resilient spirit – something that Hiramekarei would demand.

But Hiramekarei was currently Sealed away, waiting to be reclaimed. They probably wouldn't get another Kenjutsu user in time to take up the Blade. Besides, as was tradition, the potential wielder had to do something worthy to earn the right to become one of the Seven Swordsmen.

Mei sighed, exhausted. She already had so many briefings today and more were sure to follow.

She glanced over at Rasa and his Suna-Nin, who all looked equally cold and miserable in Kiri's weather. It was currently winter, so that meant icy sheets of rain with temperatures nearing -0 Fahrenheit on some days. Mei almost felt sorry for the desert-dwellers. Almost. Seeing them suffer was entertaining.

The various leaders of the T&I units were discussing what they should and shouldn't share when it came to interrogating POWs, and what should be done with them. Ibiki and a couple of the Aburame who worked under him had ways of unnerving people who weren't interrogators. The head of the T&I department had found people he got along with effortlessly.

Suna interrogators loved their slow-acting poisons and hallucinogenic herbs that made breaking out of a Genjutsu near impossible.

Kiri interrogators loved their various creative methods of water torture accompanied by inserting needles underneath the fingernails and into people's gums, along with using acupuncture needles.

They then started discussing where they would set up their base of operations and what information they would be going for and what they should and shouldn't share if it came to that somehow.

The rest of the Shinobi figured they would just leave the T&I units to their own devices. That seemed best.

0000

The following months were grueling as the Konoha, Suna, and Kiri forces advanced against the Third Mizukage's forces. Arashi's armies were skilled – definitely proving that just because someone had a Kekkei Genkai didn't guarantee a victory.

Haku was currently in the medical tent, helping treat the wounded. Tsunade was doing well enough. She had Haku and a few other Medic-Nin at her side and she could direct them on how to do something if she became overwhelmed.

A man in full-length green spandex walked in, supporting another man with wild silvery-white hair.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes into a glare. Her tone was accusatory. "What did you do _this_ time, Kakashi?"

"Yo, Tsunade-hime…" Kakashi said, giving a lazy wave. He had blood on the left side of his mask, and there were several other wounds as well.

"My youthful rival had an incredible confrontation with some of those ruffians and over exerted himself." Gai said dramatically. The Medic-Nin and Kakashi all sweat-dropped as the air around Gai seemed to sparkle somehow without the use of Genjutsu; with tears running down his face. "It was truly an impressive, youthful sight to behold!"

"Don't make it sound weird." Kakashi griped. He wished he could pull away, but he couldn't really move on his own at the moment.

Haku came to the rescue as he quickly supported Kakashi's other side and gently tugged him away from Gai. "We should let Kakashi-san rest… someplace with lots of…um, quiet as we can get…"

He didn't miss the look of thankful relief Kakashi sent him.

"Take that idiot to one of the far beds," Tsunade ordered.

Haku quickly guided Kakashi to a bed that offered more privacy than most.

Gai nodded and loudly called out, "Get well soon, my youthful ri…"

Gai trailed off when Tsunade rested her hand on Gai's shoulder and squeezed ever so slowly. Tsunade somehow simultaneously glared and smiled sweetly as she said, "Gai-san, if you aren't injured, please leave. I don't want any _unnecessary_ noise to disturb my patients."

With the way she spoke, Tsunade could just as easily be talking about her "patience". Gai quickly understood, and made himself scarce after a quick, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Mah, I don't think threatening him was necessary, Tsunade-hime…" Kakashi drawled as Tsunade approached.

Tsunade's glare turned on Kakashi for a moment before she crossed her arms. "Haku, get the curtain."

Haku wordlessly obeyed and closed the curtains around Kakashi's bed for privacy.

"Kakashi, meet Haku, my apprentice. Haku, Kakashi."

While they had vague knowledge of the others' existence, the two could offer nothing more than a polite nod because Tsunade turned to Haku very seriously. "What you're about to see here I expect _full_ confidentiality – if something ever happens to Kakashi, I'll know _exactly_ who I have to crush. Understood?"

Haku stiffened and stood ramrod straight as if he were being addressed by either an angry Zabuza or a far-too-many-teeth-as-she-smiled Mei. "Yes, ma'am!"

Tsunade motioned silently to Kakashi, who slowly reached up and pushed his hitai-ate back; revealing a scarred eye, and… the _Uchiha's_ Sharingan. There was also a bloody gash across the already existing scar – just a few centimeters higher and Kakashi would have lost his eye a second time.

"Oh…" was all Haku could think to say upon seeing the eye.

"The issue we have here is that since the eye isn't originally his, it drains his own chakra after a certain amount of use, requiring bed rest and then some…"

Haku focused, and held his hand over both of Kakashi's eyes, trying to see how the Sharingan eye was connected compared to his own original eye. It had been connected very well; but the problem of the eye was that while it certainly helped – Kakashi was known as the "Copycat Ninja" for a reason – the eye also acted like a parasite in more ways than one.

This meant slower healing, causing Kakashi to be even more lethargic than he usually was if he exerted himself too much simply by using the eye. Haku quickly moved to start healing the wound on Kakashi's face, since all of his chakra was drained dangerously low.

Tsunade observed critically. Haku was doing more than a decent enough job.

Since Kakashi had to recover for a week or so anyway, there was something Tsunade wanted to try. Of course, they had to do their research before messing around and risking permanent damage. So it would have to wait.

"This is more of a theory than anything, but I think we could potentially use your ice-based chakra as a filter of sorts for the eye."

Haku was focused on healing, but he was obviously paying attention to what Tsunade was saying, and Kakashi was looking at her curiously.

That got Haku to pause momentarily. "Really?"

"You could do that?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade put her hand to her chin as she thought aloud, "It would likely be with chakra sutures, weaving around the already existing ones in a way that somehow limits the amount of chakra the eye already takes, or cutting off the eye's chakra without deactivating it…" Tsunade pulled out her notebook and pen and began writing and sketching. "Having a filter that allows the chakra to go one way, but not allowing it to either escape or drain to such dangerous levels…"

Tsunade proceeded to grumble to herself as she wrote down her ideas.

"It sounds promising, Kakashi-san…" Haku said.

"If you say so…" Kakashi replied with obvious doubt in his tone.

There was some shouting at the front of the tent, and Tsunade sighed as she quickly put away her notebook. Injured were coming in.

"Just heal the more serious injuries and put simple bandages on anything that isn't going to risk him bleeding out." Tsunade took a deep breath, and then another. It would be fine. "Check for internal injuries, just to be sure…and then help out here."

"Yes, ma'am."

After Haku finished with Kakashi, he quickly turned to leave.

"Good luck out there, Haku-san."

Haku gave a small, tentative smile and nodded his head before leaving.

0000

Tsunade felt sick to her stomach. Was she doing enough? What if that one patient died? She was already on the brink of death as it was. Were they pretty much just trying to save a corpse? Was it worth the resources they were using?

Probably not.

Wait, no. Yes, it was. They needed to at least _try_.

What about that one Suna-Nin who came in, but they failed to save him? _Could_ she have saved him? What had gone wrong? What could they have done differently? No. What _should_ they have done differently?

That Suna-Nin was far too young. He was bleeding all over, and Dan was looking up at her with an expression she couldn't read. Haku was covered in blood that wasn't his and it had come from more than one person. She could see how much it bothered him, not being able to save those around him.

She was a failure in more ways than one.

Tsunade jerked when someone put their hand on her shoulder. She had almost clocked Haku. Naomi, one of the Suna-Nin Healers was looking at her with concern. No wonder… Tsunade realized she had broken her pen in her hand; and the other she had been squeezing into such a tight fist that she had broken skin.

"Are you alright, Tsunade-hime?" Naomi asked.

"I…I'm fine." Tsunade lied, just a bit.

"Get some rest, please, Tsunade-sama." Haku asked quietly. "Naomi-san and I can take care of things from here."

Tsunade didn't really sleep all that well that night.

00000

One of the things she and Haku discovered – rather, it was more like Haku tried it out of desperation to stop someone from bleeding out – was using his chakra to create a sort of internal tourniquet that stopped the bleeding all together.

Because it had been such a rush-job, it was a temporary fix, but it gave the others enough time to save the man's life.

Haku was there when the man woke up.

"Hello, sir," Haku greeted with a smile.

"Hello~ beautiful…" the man slurred as he reached out for Haku. "Did the Shinigami take me? I swear I'm looking at an angel."

A tick-mark formed on Haku's forehead and his smile was far too tight. He took the man's hand and resisted removing it via excessive frostbite.

"You just rest, sir." Haku put the man's hand down.

"Call me Genma."

"I'm Haku, and you need to rest."

"Night, angel face."

Haku hoped that was just the drugs talking, but he highly doubted it. He was also annoyed at Naomi, who kept laughing to herself. And the other Medic-Nin were not trying to hide their amusement.

Tsunade smirked as she started calling Haku, "Angel Face" every now and then when she wanted something.

Haku groaned. It made him wonder what he would look like if he cut his hair short and just started wearing wigs if he was required for an infiltration mission. Just trying to imagine himself having short hair made Haku think he'd look far too strange.

00000

A few days later, the exhausted troops and their camp moved further into Kiri. They were in an area surrounded by fog and mountains and was located right by an old temple that had long-fallen into disrepair. But there was a group of rebels who were staying there to take care of numerous children, along with Arashi's four-year-old son, Yagura.

"The kid's far too serious," Kakashi commented offhandedly after meeting the kid, and that earned him more than one arched eyebrow from those who had known him since he was a child.

"That stare is unnervingly familiar…" Jiraiya said to himself when he caught Yagura staring at him. It reminded him a bit of Gaara, except in this case the stare was more suspicious than it was murderous.

Mayuri, a Suna-Nin, was glancing up at the walls of the temple in curiosity. The carvings and painting that adorned the walls had either faded or been defaced, somehow. One of the murals, which was difficult to make out, had what looked to be some sort of large, turtle-like creature that looked like the Sanbi, with several people or something? The people looked a little strange…almost fish-like? They were ridiculously disproportioned. Were they all wearing different masks? Did some of those people have _tails_ instead of legs? With the paint faded due to time and weather damage, it was difficult to make out.

"Is that a puppet?"

Mayuri turned around and glanced down at a kid, who couldn't have been older than four or five. He had pale brown hair, strange, pink eyes with a fairly recent-looking scar that was so close to his left eye it was very lucky that he wasn't completely blind in that eye; if he had any vision damage at all. In the sunlight that filtered through the windows, Mayuri could see a few patches of gray-toned scales along the kid's neck and shoulders, down to his elbows thanks to the tank top he wore.

Mayuri felt slightly irked. How was this kid _not_ cold?! Damn Kiri locals and their miserably cold weather!

The kid's eyes went to his hitai-ate before glancing back at him. "I've heard that Suna uses puppets to fight."

Mayuri's puppet was wrapped around him; which he used as both protection and offence.

Smiling as best he could, since Mayuri was never one for interacting with children if he could help it. He removed the snake puppet and uncoiled it while using chakra threads to carefully position it into a sort-of reared back striking position to show it off.

"Yeah, this is my puppet, Atakama." Mayuri was particularly proud of this model. Metal plating and wood smooth and polished until it shined; stained a beautiful shade of red.

"What all can it do?"

Since this was a kid, and he had more than likely been displaced thanks to this war, Mayuri decided that he wouldn't try shooing the kid off somehow. Plus, he could brag about his baby to a willing audience.

"Here are poisonous spikes that can fire out here, here and here. I can use this drill in her tail for a number of things, this armor plating offers protection, I have different kinds of poisons that have varying effects, and she can bite an opponent – there are different poisons on her teeth that alone are pretty dangerous, but mixed together have some pretty nasty reactions."

Mayuri described the weapons he had hidden within each of the snake's sections, and not once did the kid interrupt him.

The kid was silent for a moment, and didn't really blink, weirding Mayuri out a little. He was reminded a bit of Gaara. The silence between felt awkward, but only for the man.

The kid finally spoke. "That's really a lot of work…it's impressive."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm Mayuri, by the way. What's your name, kid?"

"Yagura. My father is Arashi, and people are going to kill him."

"Your…father…?!" Mayuri had heard that Arashi's son was a Jinchuuriki, and well, _no wonder_ the kid creeped him out!

"Why are you making that expression, Mayuri-san?" Yagura tilted his head. "It's the most logical conclusion after…" Yagura glanced to the side, and his hand almost reached up to the scar on his face but stopped, putting in back down to his side. "…After what he's done."

Almost instinctively, Mayuri wanted to move his puppet between himself and Yagura, because Jinchuuriki were dangerous, even at the young age of four.

"Yagura-chan, there you are!" someone said as they walked up to them.

"Haku!" Yagura smiled for the first time since Mayuri had been talking to him. The kid hugged Haku, who had knelt down to Yagura's level. The Jinchuuriki was smiling, acting far too Human and child-like. Mayuri was determined not be fooled.

Haku ran his thumb over the scar on Yagura's face, with a bit of sad smile. It had healed very well considering their limited and rushed resources at the time.

"What are you doing?" Haku asked.

"Mayuri-san was showing me his snake."

There were certain implications to that, and Mayuri coughed, ready to defend himself if need be. But Haku only smiled as he looked at the puppet then to Mayuri.

"I'm Kagayaki Haku, nice to meet you."

"Mayuri…nice to meet you as well…" how Haku wasn't scared of Yagura he wasn't sure.

"It's time for lunch, Yagura-chan, and there are some people I want you to meet."

"Okay. Bye, Mayuri-san."

Mayuri was far too relieved when Haku left with Yagura, and led him over to a corner where there were a few other Kiri-Nin eating food. He put his puppet back into place and made his way outside – as far as he could get from the Jinchuuriki

"Mayuri-kun, join us!" Naomi said as she held up some alcohol.

A few of the people whooped, and hours later there was a bit of a celebration going on.

Anko was having a drinking contest with Mayuri, and some cheered and others groaned as Mayuri was forced to give in. He had always been a bit of a lightweight anyway. He was passed out soon after.

"Angel Face!" Genma called when Haku and Zabuza walked by.

Genma didn't notice the glare, but the others did.

"Haku-san, good to see you." Kakashi greeted. "Why don't you and your friend join us?"

Haku smiled his thanks and sat down, along with Zabuza, and they introduced themselves to the group.

"Angel Face, I'm so happy to see you again!" Genma said. He was buzzed but thankfully not drugged up like a fool this time. "You look as radiant as ever."

Haku's smile was far too tight to be considered friendly.

"She saved my life," Genma was saying. "Angel Face is among the best."

There were some looks of confusion between the Shinobi who were fully aware of Haku's gender. Should they say something? Was it their place? Did Genma _really_ not know that Haku was male? Did he care?

Zabuza simply took a big drink of alcohol, knowing that Haku had this whole thing handled.

"Thank you for your praise, Genma-san," Haku said in a near-singsong voice. "I appreciate it. But I think you should know…" Haku's expression turned ominous. "I'm a boy."

Genma's jaw dropped. "You…you're a…? With a…? Dressed like that?"

Haku smiled eerily. "I've found that dressed like this," Haku indicated the flowery kimono he was wearing, "that foolish men drop their guard around me and allows me to close in for the kill."

Anko burst out laughing so hard she fell on the ground and held her stomach. "I like this kid!"

"I'm surprised you didn't notice after flirting with him over the course of the last few days." Kakashi casually flipped a page in his book.

"I knew pretty much straight away…" Naomi added.

"You jerks, you let me go on and on about how beautiful she-_he _was!" A cloud of depression hung over Genma as he trudged off. "I'm so sorry…I think I'm gonna go reevaluate my life's choices and die."

"That was too good!" Anko said once she was able to take a breath.

Asuma gave an impressed whistle. "You even had me believing you were a girl," he smirked deviously. He was so going to find ways to hang this over Genma's head with every opportunity.

Kurenai yawned and stretched. "I'm going to turn in for a nap. See you later, everyone."

Fifteen minutes later, Asuma cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to my tent. See you in the morning."

Once Asuma was out of earshot, Shibi spoke up. Since most of the people hadn't noticed him sitting there, he startled them. "Those two are not as subtle as they like to think they are. Why? Their words and actions are all very weak excuses for what they are actually doing."

"They should just be more up front about it, ya know!" Anko complained. She turned her woes on the Kiri-Nin. "I try scoring dates, but it sucks going out with Kurenai because, you know, you've _seen_ her!"

It also didn't help that Kurenai was more of the upstanding, responsible citizen type. Kurenai also had a stern personality in most public situations; and was soft and friendly when she was among the select few whom she considered friends. She made a terrible wing-woman!

"Asuma-kun should make a meaningful, public declaration of love so Kurenai-san can stop coming up with ridiculous reasons why she's not dating all the eligible men who're lining up for her." Kakashi nodded. "I've taken inspiration from her myriad of excuses."

It was a nice day, just being able to relax with different people, no matter what their background was. The Konoha-Kiri-Suna alliance was running along smoothly.

They would have to move out again in a few days. But for now, they could relax.

0000

The weeks passed and the war progressed. Haku continued learning what he could from Tsunade, along with experimenting on his own. He had a decent grasp of what she wanted from his chakra when it came to healing, so he was staying up with her on sleepless nights to take notes, discuss strategies, or simply talk.

The nights where Tsunade had a difficult time due to some small thing (however ridiculous it was to her personally) triggering a flashback were exhausting. But Haku would make tea for Tsunade, Shizune, and himself.

Even though it was unnecessary, Haku didn't mind.

It was moments like this that Tsunade started to look forward to their chats. It grounded her in a certain way that alcohol couldn't. On some days, she could binge much to Shizune's dismay. But sometimes she didn't have that luxury. Sometimes it was okay; she could push aside those mental blocks and do what had to be done.

Sometimes, her thoughts would overwhelm her and Tsunade would shut down. It left the others to step up, and thank whatever Fates or gods were out there that they did so without complaint. But thankfully, they never saw her as weak.

The Medic-Nin who worked under her knew the pain of failing to save someone. Haku did what he could after someone had died. He always encouraged their comrades to carry their dreams for them. He spent time with people who were grieving.

Haku was certainly an interesting kid.

Tsunade and Haku practiced their theories on people who had less life-threatening injuries and were willing participants. If they could help save lives in the future, why not?

Haku could use his ice-based chakra as a way of mending; getting it thin enough to suture without permanent damage, and also creating a sort of "layer" as an internal patch for certain injuries.

While Tsunade did attribute quite a bit of their discoveries to the versatility of Haku's chakra; it was a testament to Haku's skill – and he was only fourteen.

Once this was over, Tsunade decided that she would return to Konoha – on the conditions that Haku came with her because she could teach him her fighting style. She was also going to scout Konoha, Kiri, and Suna's academies, and then Shizune and Haku would be helping her train future Healers.

"Tsunade-sama has a scary look on her face…" Shizune muttered warily under her breath.

"Buu…" Tonton agreed.

000

As the months progressed, Haku noticed something about Zabuza. He started acting differently, somehow. Haku wasn't really sure when it happened; or what exactly those differences were. He just couldn't really put his finger on _what_ was different.

On a day where he wasn't assigned to the medical tents, Haku was scouting with Kimimaro and Mangetsu. So he decided that he would ask them.

"Have either of you noticed anything different about Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked.

Kimimaro shook his head. "Not that I've noticed."

"Yeah, I've noticed something different," Mangetsu said, chewing on a toothpick.

"Really?" both Haku and Kimimaro asked at the same time. Haku sounded genuinely curious, while Kimimaro sounded slightly skeptical. Mangetsu wasn't really the type to notice finer details, unless they somehow affected him. Or, that of his younger brother, Suigetsu. So, something affecting his brother effectively affected him.

"He's wearing different shin and arm guards." Mangetsu's tone was completely flat. "The shins are a different material, and the ones on his arms are shinier and sturdier looking." Mangetsu looked entirely bored and already done with the conversation as he finished with, "I know, because I was there when he received them from Mei-sama."

That got Haku to roll his eyes. "I'm being serious, Hōzuki-san!"

"Nobody but you cares, Kagayaki." Mangetsu rolled his own eyes lazily. "Besides, if it was something really serious and we needed to worry, he'd bother to tell us."

Kimimaro shrugged. "Maybe you're just imagining it? We've all been working long hours."

"You two are _so_ helpful." Haku muttered with a glare.

"Hey, you're the only one who thinks that Zabuza-san is acting weird." Mangetsu replied. "Not even the people in our team have mentioned it."

Maybe he _was_ imagining it. If something was bothering Zabuza, then surely he would tell Haku? They were like family, after all. Mangetsu had a point. Maybe it was all the fighting their fellow countrymen and having to go up against Arashi's army for almost a year-and-a-half now. They had reached their destination and they were finally going to hopefully bring this war to an end. _Everyone_ was exhausted. So that _must_ have been it.

0000

Haku quickly made his way through camp towards Zabuza's tent. He had some really good news he wanted to share. Since he and Tsunade had been working on ways to apply ice-based chakra to various types of injuries, things were already looking promising. The case with Kakashi's eye was starting to look like it would work without issue. Plus, Mei needed to discuss strategy with Zabuza about fighting Arashi, so she had asked Haku to tell Zabuza to come talk to her.

Haku didn't really bother to announce himself, because he never really had to; and simply entered Zabuza's tent. It was late afternoon, so Zabuza would most likely be reading or polishing Kubikiribōchō.

"Sorry to bother you, Zabuza-sama, I've got something to…"

"Oh!" a woman's voice – what.

Haku froze. What was happening?

His brain suddenly wasn't working properly.

What.

That woman… who…?

"Heya, kid…"

Anko didn't really duck away in shame. She did cover herself with the bedsheet, but Haku had already seen enough to know she wasn't wearing anything.

There were clothes all over the floor in Zabuza's tent.

"Oh. Uh…" Zabuza sat up, and grabbed Anko's discarded coat to cover himself since Anko was hogging the covers. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Hey, Haku…you uh, you need anything?"

Haku's face had drained of all color. "I…I um, don't…remember."

Haku's face then started to burn as he finally started to process exactly what he had walked in on Zabuza and Anko doing. Giving a quick and very awkward deep bow, Haku mumbled a barely legible apology and hurried out of the tent.

The voices around him were muffled, and Haku was pretty sure someone was calling him; but he couldn't get the horrifying image of Zabuza and Anko out of his mind. He had walked in on them, doing _that! _

Dammit, here he was a teenager _and_ a Medic-Nin in training, he had seen both women and men naked. He knew how sex worked and that it was a natural thing.

But…but Zabuza… Haku slapped his cheeks, trying to banish the image from his mind. Zabuza was an adult, and didn't have to inform Haku on what he was doing during his personal time.

Haku eventually collapsed onto a seat by the campfire, and the people around him were all laughing; completely unaware of what was plaguing him.

"Yo, Haku-kun!" one of the Shinobi greeted, but he didn't get a reply back. Genma frowned at Haku's strange, vacant stare. Everyone else had a concerned look as well. This was very much unlike Haku.

Kimimaro walked up, saying, "Haku-kun, sorry to bother you about this, and I know you're busy, but…" he trailed off.

Something wasn't right. It wasn't like Haku to ignore people.

"Haku-kun?" Kimimaro hesitantly reached forward to put his hand on Haku's shoulder. He had to quickly lean back when Haku suddenly jolted to his feet.

"…Kimimaro-kun?" Haku questioned quietly.

"You alright, kid?" Genma asked.

"You look pale," Mayuri added, "Like, even _more_ so than usual."

"Are you getting a fever? You feel hot." Asuma asked as he put a hand to Haku's forehead just in case. "Should I get Tsunade-sama?"

"Maybe I should get Zabuza?" Genma wondered aloud. Maybe he would know what was wrong with Haku. "This could be-!"

"_NO!"_ Haku loudly objected, waving his arms before stopping to form an 'X'. His face was now burning with embarrassment. "You don't want to go _anywhere_ near his tent!"

That response only got everyone to jump up as well, wondering if something had happened to Zabuza; and if they should go see what was wrong.

"No, it's _nothing _like that! At _all!"_

Genma slowly glanced at the others before hesitantly asking, "…Then what's wrong?"

Haku's face was even more of a tomato red, and he covered it with his hands. His muffled response wasn't understandable at first.

"Come again?" Might Gai requested as he leaned in closer with a hand to his ear.

"…Zabuza-sama and Anko-san were…in his tent…I walked in on them…" Haku could feel his face getting redder by the second with every word, if that was even possible. This was horrible. He wanted to disappear into a hole and die. "No clothes…in bed…"

"They _what?!"_ Mangetsu was shocked.

Asuma's jaw dropped enough that his cigarette fell out of his mouth.

"How long, though?" Kurenai pondered. She was a bit annoyed that Anko hadn't thought to mention it to her.

Genma started guffawing as he patted Haku's back.

"Who'da thought?" Mayuri commented.

"What youth!" Gai shouted. "That our wonderful Anko and Zabuza would find love out here on the battlefield!"

"Gai, stop shouting!" Kurenai hissed under her breath, but now people were looking over at them with expressions of confusion and disbelief.

"Seriously, how long have they been doing this?" Asuma seemed to be incensed, since well, he had never figured it out. He was a Sarutobi, dammit!

"For about six-and-half months, now." Anko's voice rung out over the small crowd.

Anko, along with Zabuza, walked up to them – fully clothed, thank the Fates. Anko was positively smug; while Zabuza looked as if he had been caught with the proverbial cookie jar, but wasn't really ashamed of it – a bit proud of it, in fact.

Haku looked even more ashamed as he sunk back down to his seat.

"Hey, sorry you had to see Zabuza like that," Anko said as she joined Haku and put an arm around him. Haku groaned, causing Anko to laugh heartily. "But really, you should have knocked, kid."

"It's a _tent!" _Haku shot back. "_Where_ exactly is a person supposed to _knock_ on a _tent?!"_

"Maybe announce yourself before just walking in?" Zabuza suggested as he sat down as well on Anko's other side.

"Okay, seriously. This isn't some weird joke, right?" Asuma questioned. "We're in the middle of a freaking warzone, how the hell did you get away with this? Surrounded by people who are _supposed _to be able to detect this kind of thing?"

Maybe they needed to step up their training or something.

"Did you use some sort of Genjutsu?" asked Kurenai, because it was a pretty impressive feat to get away with such a thing for so long while surrounded by several hundred Shinobi. Did they threaten or pay people to keep quiet?

"We were clearly a lot more subtle than you," Anko said with a teasing smirk-and-wink combo, "Asuma-kun, Kurenai-chan."

"What makes you say that?" Asuma replied, sweating a little.

"You and that Yuhi woman, obviously." Zabuza said.

"But I'm not…" Asuma tried to object.

"We aren't…" Kurenai said weakly.

"…I knew within the first few months about Sarutobi and Yuhi," Mayuri looked proud of himself for knowing this all-too-obvious fact.

"You two aren't as subtle as you think." Inoichi said with a knowing smirk of his own. He turned to the others to add, "Asuma's always coming to my wife's flower shop and getting flowers – and what he buys isn't something you'd get for a funeral or in memory of a dead loved one. Besides, my wife's family take care of the maintenance in the graveyards and they never see Asuma leave behind flowers when he's there."

Kakashi finally spoke up, casually glancing up from his favorite book. "Anko-chan, you do realize that this means Ibiki will want to talk to your boy toy if this continues?"

"Oi," Zabuza glared at Kakashi, who simply smiled.

"Poor guy…" Genma said solemnly as he gave Zabuza a pitying look that made the Kiri-Nin sweat-drop. "Well, Anko does get on Ibiki's nerves, but he likes her well enough. So you should walk away fairly unscathed."

"We can only hope." Kakashi said with a little too much mirth in his tone that made the Kiri-Nin around him a tad concerned.

"I imagine our Kage will be talking to them as well…" Kimimaro added.

Oh, yeah…there was that.

Zabuza groaned.

Mangetsu shook his head. "Politics are a bitch."

Haku was extremely apologetic, but he hadn't voiced that yet. He was happy for Zabuza finding someone – and he liked Anko. He could certainly get used to her being there, if she chose to stick around – and if their Kage would allow it.

0000

It was late evening, and Zabuza had just had a strategy meeting with Mei, but now he was informing her of his exploits with Mitarashi. It was more than likely the gossip had already reached her, but Mei hadn't acted like she knew anything.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Mei asked.

"Uh, no? I don't know—"

"You _need_ to ask her properly." Mei said resolutely. "Besides, since you work under me in an official capacity, this could be very advantageous."

"We haven't even discussed if we're _in_ an actual relationship!" Zabuza defended.

"No, Zabuza-san, you can't do that!" Mei insisted, slamming her hand on her table. "A woman's heart isn't something to be toyed with!"

"Have you _met _Anko?" Because honestly, it had started as a game to see how long they could go before getting caught.

"But you're both _so_ cute together." Mei smiled, and there was a hint of blush on her cheeks.

"You haven't even seen us together." Zabuza said flatly. He then suspiciously asked, "Seriously, why are you so insistent that we stay together?"

"…You'll let me be in the wedding, won't you?" Mei asked, looking starry-eyed. She _loved _weddings! _Anything_ to do with romance, really.

Zabuza's voice was even more flat, if that were possible. "All this over a wedding."

"I can't help myself!" Mei admitted. She fidgeted with the ring that was on her finger. It was a reminder of a life that could and should have been, but had been stolen away before it could properly begin. "You deserve to be happy, Zabuza."

Zabuza glanced down at the ring, before he muttered, "I'll be going now, Mei-san. Night."

Mei nodded and gave an encouraging thumbs-up and mouthed, "ask her!" Zabuza growled out something unintelligible and wished he had a door to slam as he exited Mei's tent.

Upon leaving, Ibiki and the Aburame who worked under him were waiting, along with Inoichi.

"We need to talk."

That was all Zabuza got as the Aburame surrounded him. Inoichi walked next to Zabuza and gave him a hesitant smile.

"I'm just here to make sure no-one kills each other, though I can understand how Ibiki feels, I think?" Inoichi scratched his cheek. He glanced at Ibiki, whose back was to them. He leaned over to whisper, "I have a daughter…she's not even in her teens yet, but she already has an eye out for boys… I prepared a list of who to watch out for."

Zabuza wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Huh…"

They led Zabuza about a mile away from camp before stopping. Then Ibiki turned and glowered at the man whom Anko had pretty much staked her claim on. Ibiki most _definitely_ had words for Zabuza that night.

"Here's how this is going to work," Ibiki was stern, "If you hurt Anko in any way, shape, or form, I will _gladly_ torture you until you beg for death. I know ways to keep a man alive for as long as humanly possible, and the Aburame can also personally attest to that."

For the next several hours, Ibiki described in very vivid detail all the forms of torture that he knew of, how to use it, and what it did to the Human body and psyche.

"If you two break up, Anko's the one who's going to do it. Am I clear, Momochi?"

"…Chrystal."

Zabuza returned several hours later looking exhausted as he entered Anko's tent. He didn't really try to hide the fact since it was sort of common knowledge now.

"What took you so long?" Anko asked. "I thought you were just going to meet your Kage?"

"Mei wants us to have a serious relationship, she was very encouraging on that front." He chose not to mention that Mei wanted them to get married. Zabuza complained as he unwrapped his face mask. "Morino is insane, and that's saying something coming from me."

"He _actually_ talked to you?" Anko scoffed. "I _told_ him not to, but Ibiki's like my weird, overprotective big brother. He's been like that since I first joined T&I as an apprentice. He's threatened almost everyone he's had some sort of suspicion towards, even my casual flings."

Anko decided not to mention that Zabuza was the only to ever come back to her after being threatened by Ibiki.

"I just want to sleep and not have to think about all the ways he could kill me."

"Hm, I'll have to get him back, somehow…" Anko said as she snuggled next to Zabuza. "Help me think of something, Zabuza!"

"You could always draw on his face." Zabuza suggested after a moment, too tired to really think about it.

"That is dumb and childish. I love it."

000

**The Zabuza/Anko ship is crack and I will sail away on it laughing like a madwoman. **

**Poor Haku. He doesn't need to know what Zabuza gets up to in his personal time. **

**Poor Zabuza. He has to deal with OverProtectiveOlderBrother!Ibiki.**

**Anko has no shame.**

**I intend for there to be more action in future chapters. There's also going to be some serious, heavier topics, feels, and so on. This one is more lighthearted and sort of got Haku as being the main character (not complaining). I don't really want to go through the nitty-gritty details of the war, because that is a massive and unnecessary undertaking. **

**Next Time: The Four Kage**


	2. Enthusiastic Ramblings of a Fanatic

**This chapter decided to be difficult. I knew what I wanted from this chapter, but writing it out was like pulling teeth. Thank y'all for your patience.**

_Chapter Two: The Four Kage and the Fantastic Enthusiastic Ramblings of a Fanatic_

000

During their early planning stages, the Kage discussed at length Arashi and his abilities.

"So…" Rasa's voice was quiet. "What do we need to watch out for?"

Mei was exhausted. She had known the faces of the people they were fighting against and had once called them allies, maybe even friends at one point. She had to focus on the now.

"Arashi is a genius when it comes to Water and Ice-based Jutsu. He's able to combine water and ice like it's nothing. He can shoot ice spikes as long as your arm out of water-whips – or use the water-whips like extra limbs.

"One of his signature moves is the Aisutako no Kiba, which he created. It's where he uses several water whips with ice spikes jutting out. It's like going up against a liquid mace, so keeping your distance is a must. But then you have to worry about him firing the spikes. There is an opening of around three to five seconds after he shoots a spike that he has to create the spike – but even then – you have the other tentacles."

Mei smiled, but it didn't reach her eye. She pushed her bangs back, revealing the injury she had gotten the last time the rebels had tried and failed to take down Arashi. The bandage had finally come off. A large scar covered half of her face. Her eye had been beyond saving.

"Zabuza was able to pull me out of the way at the last minute… I was very lucky that my eye is all I lost. Otherwise, it would have been my head being cut in half."

"Good to know," Hiruzen said in grim-humored sort of way.

Mei stared at the various maps in front of them on the table. A finger traced over the engagement ring on her finger. A part of her was bitter and angry, and just didn't understand. How Arashi had unexpectedly betrayed her beloved Tatsumaki when they had been so close. They had been brothers in everything but blood; two people who didn't like the practices their academy had enforced for so many years and wanted it to change.

Tatsumaki had intended to be Arashi's advisor. He had thought that being Mizukage would be too much trouble, and Arashi was charismatic and had natural people skills. Tatsumaki felt that he would serve far better in a background role; and Arashi would be someone people would follow.

Arashi wanted change as much as any of them.

Or at least, that was what Arashi had claimed. Had he been just waiting to strike? Lying to make them drop their guard? It was what made him so dangerous – he embodied the role of a Shinobi so well, it was frightening.

Arashi had stolen what could have been her life from her, and hadn't even batted an eye.

They had prepared for Arashi to become Mizukage with Tatsumaki and Mei as his advisors. Zabuza had believed in that dream when he was brought on board. That had been the plan. Part of it anyway.

Mei had told Tatsumaki she would marry him after Arashi became Mizukage, because she had been of the mind that getting married would have slowed their goal down, somehow. She had wanted them to accomplish that dream; something Tatsumaki had wanted for a long time. He shouldn't have had to worry about her and any responsibilities that came to having a spouse when he was working so hard for that goal.

She had been willing to wait and support. Simply being a housewife with a few kids after a few years and growing old with the man she loved was all she had wanted out of life. But both of those dreams were gone forever. She had been forced into a new role, and had no other choice but to accept it.

Kiri-Nin did not show weaknesses, and Mei did not share beyond what was necessary. Her relationship with Tatsumaki didn't matter here. She would only share the basic and most vital to help complete this mission.

But then Arashi had become Mizukage and he gradually just...started tearing their lives apart piece-by-piece. He killed Tatsumaki when the man had stood up to him and demanded an explanation and started to spread the lies about Kekkei Genkai holders.

He had torn her life and family apart before it had even properly started. He had nearly blinded Yagura in one eye; his own flesh and blood for some sort of perceived slight that Mei didn't and couldn't understand – and neither did Yagura, sadly.

The memory of fruitlessly trying to stop Tatsumaki's blood from gushing out of him as it leaked between her fingers assaulted her mind. She had screamed at him to not leave her, and he was choking on his own blood…he was looking up at her, knowing he was dying, and he was smiling in that soft, gentle way he had…a side only she knew.

How through gasping breaths he asked Zabuza to promise he would look after her.

Zabuza was cursing at Tatsumaki and calling him an idiot, but promising that he would look after Mei, no matter what. He had upheld that promise ever since and had essentially become her shadow when it mattered most.

Deep breath. Now wasn't the time.

"Mei-san?" Hiruzen's voice brought her out of her storming thoughts.

"So, we need to be careful," Mei said, schooling her expression. She was a Kirigakure Kunoichi, and was an expert in pretending that everything was fine and that she was in control, even when her turbulent emotions demanded otherwise. "We need to watch each other's backs and move as one, cohesive unit. We can never leave any openings, because he _will_ exploit them. Never drop your guard around him – not until we know for absolutely _sure_ he is dead – one of the ways he constantly got people to lower their guard was pretending to be dead or about to pass out – then, he would strike, often from behind, using his water and ice manipulation."

0000

Rasa eyed the troops that consisted of various teams. Some were already pre-existing, and others were made of members from the three villages.

"Aw, look at them." Mei cooed.

Both Rasa and Hiruzen glanced over to where Mei was looking. Anko was currently poking Zabuza's chest with a finger while her other hand was on her hip. She looked very serious; as if she were demanding something and scolding Zabuza at the same time. Zabuza was rubbing the back of his neck and looked annoyed.

Then, Anko pulled Zabuza forward to kiss him on his tape-covered face. She whispered something to him, and then walked away – she turned briefly and smirked and waved at him before facing forward. It was clear to anyone observing where Zabuza was looking as he watched Anko leave.

"Ah, they're such a cute couple." Mei sighed wistfully. "When they get married, there will certainly be a more solid unification between us, Hokage-sama. Don't you agree?"

Hiruzen's expression was one of shock. He hadn't heard anything about this. "What? They're getting married? When?"

"Zabuza-san hasn't proposed to her _yet…" _Mei looked as if she were plotting something. "But he _will."_

The way she said it made Rasa wonder if Zabuza was aware that his Kage seemed to be planning his wedding. Hell, this woman was probably even planning the proposal – to the point that not even Zabuza nor Anko knew there would be a proposal until it was happening.

Would she go so far as to spring it on them? Zabuza would have no choice but to accept, because everyone knew not to piss off a T&I specialist with sadomasochist tendencies who didn't like being rejected. Or what if Anko decided marriage wasn't for her and was angry that Zabuza even suggested it? That'd end the relationship pretty quickly.

"Oh, Kazekage-sama? I _do_ hope that there will be weddings between our villages as well. It would be _wonderful."_

Rasa felt as if he were severely out of his element with this discussion that had suddenly sprung on him. "Uh…what? Weddings?"

"I just love a good wedding, I'm a romantic after all." Mei said with a smile. If-_when_ they won, Mei intended to give both Kage a list of eligible men and women – of course, she'd discuss it with those candidates before simply sending them off. Politics in cases like this were tricky, and not many people liked it. There were plenty of nobles throughout the Nations that handled such matters in this way. It would be for the greater good, after all. And these would be people who were willing to do what they had to in order to help their country.

Mei loved her country, and was willing to make sacrifices. It was something the people who worked under her understood as well. It was adapting to a new environment and culture, and being separated from loved ones.

A village was less likely to betray its partner if both were heavily benefitting from the union. Having such unions would potentially make betrayal too much of an effort; to make betrayal too much of a loss. To get things to a point where if some schemer actually so much as _hinted_ at betrayal, they would suddenly end up having an unfortunate, and very fatal accident.

It was stepping forward with trust; sharing Kekkei Genkai and desirable genetics. Some would view it as treating people like bartering chips. But Mei was feeling rather desperate.

With the way things looked now, Kirigakure would be heavily relying on trade, incoming missions, and its allies to recover. Other than people; Kiri had various goods that they could trade with other countries. Poisons, ores, and various plants that only grew in certain regions in Kiri… she'd have to look at it later.

They didn't really have much of a civilian council who would normally deal with day-to-day matters. Everything would be even more up in the air than it was now. Arashi and his followers had frustratingly tarnished his position and Kiri with his fanatical speaking. With the way things looked now, Mei would have a lot of work ahead of her doing damage control and working with other villages. While Suna and Konoha were a gods-send, getting some sort of partnership with other villages would be a must.

Mei glanced over at Rasa, who had an amusing expression on his face. Mei knew how desperate Rasa was to save Suna. After all, it was common knowledge that Suna's financial situation wasn't the best. Hell, Kiri was in the middle of a civil war yet was somehow better off than Suna. She knew that desperation well. It would be how they could help each other.

00000

When Zabuza had been a child – he'd had an older sister named Kishiko. They were orphans, and they were barely surviving most days. Kishiko had felt responsible as the older sibling, and she did whatever she had to so that they could at least have something to eat.

But Kishiko had an eye for brighter and better things, because surely, there had to be more to life than what they had. Even though they were well-aware of Kiri's Ninja Academy's violent reputation, Kishiko was willing to take a chance. They paid well-enough if they were successful.

As Kishiko had put it, _"It couldn't be any worse than what we're doing now."_

For nearly a year, Zabuza had worked odd jobs supporting both of them while Kishiko attended classes. Not long after, she introduced Zabuza to a girl in the class that had been assigned to be her partner, called Noabu. Noabu was quiet, but always nice. The two girls always trained together, and often, they stayed at each other's homes. It was like gaining another older sister.

"_The instructors want us to work together, and be an amazing team. Me and Noabu will be unbeatable."_

Nearly a year later, Zabuza realized the awful truth. He had stopped by the academy to walk Kishiko and Noabu home – when – he saw Naobu standing over his sister, covered in her blood. There were other students there as well; some covered in blood looking grim; others not bloody and looking at their seatmates nervously.

What none of them had known at the time was that the academy actively encouraged the children to develop deep bonds with the classmate assigned to be their partner. They then had to kill their friend as a test of conviction.

Kishiko was dead, and something in Zabuza snapped.

He honestly didn't remember much from that day, but when he came to, everyone was dead and he was covered in their blood. After that, students of the Academy were no longer required to kill their partners, because it had caused such a massive shortage in Shinobi.

It also got out to other countries how Kiri used to operate and why they stopped.

Zabuza ran away from everything and everyone; mostly drifting through life, living as a mercenary because killing was what he was all he was good at.

Arashi was the one to approach Zabuza one day, and of course Zabuza thought that he was an idiot for doing so.

"_Don't you have any idea who I am, or do you have a death wish?"_

"_I know who you are, Zabuza-san, and I know what you've done. It's why my allies and I want you to work with us. Please, listen to our proposal and consider the offer. You're free to walk away if you don't like it."_

Arashi told him of an incredible and impossible dream: a peaceful yet powerful Kiri that rivaled Konoha. It was through Arashi that he met Tatsumaki and Mei. They all wanted to work together to accomplish that goal, and had already implemented several plans to build that foundation.

For the first time in so long, Zabuza felt as if he finally had a purpose.

But then Arashi betrayed them. He'd actually had the nerve to offer Zabuza a place by his side; to be shown Hecate's mercy.

"_Open your eyes, Zabuza-san, and see Hecate-sama's greatness."_

But Zabuza's _nindo_ wouldn't allow him such a betrayal. His desire for a better and more unified Kirigakure, was far too strong to go against everything and join Arashi, even though it would have been so much easier.

So they retreated, hoping for the chance to strike. They knew to bide their time before charging in recklessly. But during that time, Arashi began talking about the threat that Kekkei Genkai holders posed. They were to blame for the dire straits the country found itself in. They carried diseases, and were a drain on society; and they needed to be eliminated.

Money and recognition would be given to those who revealed any Kekkei Genkai holders. It was more about blood feuds with some people. Even if a claim was true or not, people were dragged out of their homes and killed. Sometimes, even those who exposed other people were killed.

No-one trusted anyone.

When the Revolutionaries finally had the chance to strike, they had failed. Their losses had been too great, and now they were Nuke-Nin with prices on their heads. Zabuza's reputation pretty much saved him the hassle of fighting people coming after his head in most cases.

But then the chance encounter with Roronoa changed things, and here they were.

Zabuza would lead the initial charge; and give the Kage the opening to get to Arashi.

He was going through strategies and scenarios. Haku would be on the battlefield as a fighter and medic – and Haku had the idea of using his ice mirrors as a makeshift medical tent if things got bad. Haku had the support of Naomi, who looked extremely nervous but was trying to hide it.

Zabuza pointed to various locations on the map in front of them, "There are access points here, here, and here. We'll go in at intervals. Keep them distracted while these teams go in."

0000

_***Flash back***_

_It was a cold, wet evening, nothing new. Mei, Tatsumaki, Arashi, and Zabuza were gathered in a small room at a decrepit inn. The place had been patched over so much the original wood that built the inn likely had been replaced long ago. Thin, holey tarp patched leaky spots on the ceiling; with rusty buckets that caught any excess drips._

"_We're probably breathing at least ten different kinds of mold," Tatsumaki commented dryly. _

_No-one disagreed with him._

_They discussed their plans long into the night; how they would earn political favor so that Tatsumaki could become Mizukage without much opposition. _

"_We need to establish some boundaries over how much power the Civilian Council has…" Mei pointed out. "They can get a little full of themselves and think they have more power than they actually do – and try to wedge themselves into matters that don't concern them. So we need to appeal to civilians; surely there are a few of them who will have the villages and the overall country's interests in mind."_

"_We shouldn't be getting ahead of ourselves," Zabuza said. "I'm not being a pessimist; I'm being a realist." _

"_It gives us hope, though, that's what's important," Mei replied._

"_Enough of discussing all that." Arashi spoke up, "We've been talking about this for literally hours. Since we're all here," Arashi held up a wooden box with a smile on his face. "I've got something special for everyone," _

_He set the box down and opened the lid._

"_Customized kunai, this symbolizes the promise between us…" Arashi said._

_****End****_

Zabuza squeezed his hand around the kunai that had been given to him. It had been made out of a highly durable metal; was bigger than a normal kunai, being closer to a butcher's knife in size. _'For a united Kiri' _was carved into the blade.

Zabuza looked up when Anko wrapped her arms around him.

"You alright?" her voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Just remembering." Zabuza replied.

Anko glanced at the oversized kunai in his hand, and sighed. She figured just by his attitude and the way he looked at it; she didn't have to be a T&I specialist to know it held some heavy significance.

"Make sure you come back to me, got it?" Anko said. It was probably foolish, a Kunoichi demanding someone survive in a war that could more than likely kill them. And demand a promise that couldn't be kept. Zabuza would probably feel like a failure in death – she didn't want to put that kind of pressure on him.

"I promise." Zabuza replied anyway, with a hint of a smile under his mask. "A Swordsman never breaks his promise."

0000

Today was the day. They would be striking tonight, while under the New Moon.

Mei tapped at one of the kunai strapped to her hips, and pulled one out of its sheath.

"'For a united Kiri'," she read the engraving as the torchlight reflected off of the blade. She glared at the weapon in her hand, remembering how Arashi had used his own blade and stabbed Tatsumaki. He'd thrown the blade away as if it had meant _nothing._

Mei swore that she would gut Arashi with one of the very same kunai that he had gifted them. She would look into the eyes of a murderer and she would smile as life left him.

00000

Kirigakure was in complete disrepair. The buildings that had been damaged during their last encounter hadn't been repaired; everything had been left to the elements. Why hadn't Arashi, or anyone else for that matter, taken care of what was so glaringly obvious?

Was it to not waste resources on fixing buildings? Send everyone who was able-bodied to war, and leaving the rest to fend for themselves?

Mei, Hiruzen, and Rasa all made it to the Tower, relatively unscathed thanks to the support of their allies. They all had enough Chakra to spare in the upcoming fight.

All of them were on edge, as anyone would be in a situation like this. Waiting for the next strike; looking for traps; or even Arashi himself to spring out.

Instead, they found Arashi casually sitting on his Kage chair, simply lounging in a near-bored like fashion. He looked disheveled, and thinner than the last time Mei had seen him, but it was obvious the threat he posed.

"You've returned to me, Mei-chan…" Arashi spoke so gently with a strange smile. Arashi's eyes glanced over at Rasa before his head slowly followed the movement. "And you were so kind as to bring the great Hecate-sama a gift. She will surely bless you in death with abundance."

Rasa had never experienced such a disturbing sensation before; having those eyes on him. That cold, empty gaze made his skin tingle and shivers go up and down his spine. Arashi wasn't assessing him as a threat; rather, it was as prey – or a mere object to be obtained. Rasa _knew _that it was foolish to act without thinking, but at that moment he wanted to throw everything he had at Arashi because of how terrified that look alone made him.

"We are here to end things, Arashi." Mei replied coldly. "We are no longer dealing with this nonsense. You can take Hecate's blessing and shove it up your ass."

Arashi's eyes flashed, and his calm demeanor melted away into a vicious snarl. His fingernails dug into the armrests of his seat like claws. "You _dare_ to mock Hecate-sama's benevolence?!" Arashi was suddenly on his feet and he was near screaming at this point. "Disregard her loving generosity as a nothing more than a farce?!"

Arashi's hands rapidly formed the signs for a Jutsu.

"Get ready!" Hiruzen called, as Mei and Rasa braced themselves.

"_Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"_

Rasa quickly raised a shield between them, and the force of the water shoved him backwards, and Mei and Hiruzen moved to strike quickly.

Taking a calculated risk, Mei dove out from behind the shield and released a Jutsu.

"_Lava Release!" _

Hiruzen rapidly created several shadow clones to impede Arashi however he could. The clones threw fuma shuriken at Arashi, so that attacks were coming at him from numerous angles. Hiruzen also wielded his staff, intending to cut off Arashi's escape attempts.

Mei's attack covered the ceiling before it rained down on Arashi, who swiftly dodged. A good portion of his sleeve and arm were burned, but that wasn't enough.

Watery tentacles shot out from underneath Arashi's robes, slicing through the clones. Rasa gathered his sand and used it to try and slow Arashi down. He fired hundreds of sand shuriken, and Arashi countered by transforming the water into hundreds of icy needles.

The two elements collided; and bits of ice and sand rained down on them.

Hiruzen pressed forward again, with Mei backing him up.

Hiruzen wielded his staff like a spear, and extended it towards his opponent. Mei followed up with throwing poison-covered kunai that the Suna-Nin had been gracious enough to share with her.

"_Suiro no Jutsu!"_

Arashi performed the Jutsu on himself as a form of defense. Hiruzen struck at him with his oversized staff, and Arashi's body exploded into thousands of icy thorns. Fortunately, the trio were able to dodge most of them, and only received a few scratches.

"How can two of her children be _so_ ungrateful?!" Arashi demanded, as he appeared behind them. "Hecate granted you her gifts and you defy her?!"

"You sure are caught up in this absurd delusion," Rasa replied dryly. He threw sand shuriken at Arashi again, and Arashi raised an icy shield that caught the projectiles. Just then, the sand encased in the ice exploded; revealing the metal shuriken within and Arashi received a few scratches.

Rasa grimaced, knowing that there wasn't enough poison delivered to even slow the other man down. He performed an Earth Jutsu, _Doton: Doryuso, _and thick spikes shot out of the ground.

Mei ran along the lengths of the spikes as they shot out, attacking Arashi with punches and kicks. She snarled as she whipped out a butcher knife-sized kunai and slashed out.

Arashi grabbed her wrist, and twisted her arm. Mei cringed as she was forced to let go, but she flipped in the direction Arashi was trying to twist her arm and delivered a kick. Arashi had no choice but to release her, so he twisted into a spin and flipped her. Mei was impaled by a spike, but she disappeared in a poof of smoke – being replaced by some debris.

After widening the distance between them, Arashi stood on one of the spikes, and he peered down at them.

"How can her child refer to Hecate-sama as such?" Arashi asked with eerie calm, cocking his head strangely. He dodged as fuma shuriken were fired at him from below, and Hiruzen came from above.

He appeared casual while he dodged numerous attacks. "Delusion? You call my love and loyalty a delusion?" Arashi paused, as he smiled wide. "You are wrong, Rasa-san. Hecate revives and restores, and in her benevolence she blesses with life."

Mei produced another _Lava Release_, anticipating where Arashi would land. He did get caught in the burning liquid, and the smell of burned clothing and flesh filled the room. If any of them had had weaker stomachs, they would have been sick.

Arashi stuck to the wall, though he faltered a bit because of his burned feet.

Hiruzen used the temporary distraction to attack, but Arashi snarled at him and struck out with icy daggers on his fingers. Hiruzen winced when his bicep was torn through.

"Don't interfere with family matters!" Arashi looked particularly unhinged at that moment, only to calm down and turn his calm demeanor back to Mei and Rasa.

"Family? _Family?!" _Mei angrily echoed. "I don't want any part of your fucking twisted idea of a family! You're the one who threw all of that away!"

"_Giant Vortex Jutsu!" _Mei sent a massive, raging torrent of water at Arashi.

Arashi was all too annoyingly calm. He cut through Mei's attack with _Storm Upheaval._

"Hecate-sama just wants her prodigal children to return, is that too much to ask?"

Arashi then performed _Raging Waves, _and jagged chunks of ice were hidden within the waves. Mei countered with _Waterfall, _and the two attacks collided violently, soaking everyone. Within seconds, Mei gave a signal, and Rasa covered himself and Hiruzen with a sand shield. Once her companions were safe, Mei fired _Boil Release – _and the air exploded as everything began to burn.

Arashi punched the ground, and Earth Pillers shot out of the building, and he rode one of the pillars in order to escape. This raised him above the noxious fumes, and brought the fight outside.

Rasa performed another Earth Jutsu alongside Mei, and the spikes shot through the pillars, bringing them down with a resounding crash. They could see Arashi jumping to and from various falling debris through the dust cloud. This gave them cover; but that also meant that Arashi had cover as well.

They protected each other's backs. It more than likely wasn't a good idea to split up, because then Arashi could pick them off, one by one if they weren't careful.

Icy spikes shot over the ground, nearly skewering Rasa in the face. Arashi charged at them, and all four of his limbs expanded. Rasa blocked several Taijutsu strikes that began cracking through his shield. Rasa sent more chakra into his defense, but Arashi broke through. Rasa rapidly performed _Dark Swamp, _and that gave him the opening to get away from Arashi.

Mei and Hiruzen avoided the swamp with some ease.

"Third! Your staff!" Mei demanded, and Hiruzen expanded his staff over the ground so that Mei could run along the length of it. Electricity filled the air as Mei brought down yelled out, _"Inazuma no Yari!"_

Sand held Arashi in place and Earth Spikes shot through him as Mei struck.

Arashi managed to pull away using water tentacles, but it was clear that they had injured him, and that the battle was wearing him down.

"Why don't her beloved children wish to return to the fold?" Arashi asked. He was breathing heavily, "Hecate-sama would welcome her children with open arms if only you would let her."

"Why does Hecate demand the lives of innocent children if she wants them to return so badly?" Hiruzen questioned. He'd read about cults in the past; Arashi's threat wasn't just that he was a formidable Shinobi – but that he was charismatic enough that he could spread his delusions on others. The fact that so many people in Kiri followed that delusion was terrifying. "That isn't someone anyone with any compassion would want to follow!"

Arashi's fingers were splayed as he arched his hands through the air and practically screamed, _"Suiton: Suiben!"_

Ten Water Whips tore through the air, forcing everyone back. Arashi charged at Hiruzen with wild-eyed fury. He practically spit the words out, "Don't speak her name so casually, heathen! You do not understand her love! How dare you not give Hecate-sama the respect she deserves!"

"_Bedrock Coffin!" _Rasa's attack practically shifted the entire battlefield, and Arashi dodged – and dodged again to escape Hiruzen's attack – right into several shuriken that Mei had thrown at him.

Arashi barely stumbled, and Hiruzen spun into his attack, _Kaze no Yaiba. _

While the attack was traditionally done with either the fingertips or swords, Hiruzen was able to utilize the attack with great potential. Arashi was practically sheared in half, but his body shifted to water and exploded – releasing several thousand icy shards.

It appeared that Hiruzen was able to injure him somewhat, given that Arashi's arm was bloody. Hiruzen closed in once again, but Arashi turned his back on him to focus on the other two. Rasa refused to give Arashi any chances to recover, and he delivered a fierce downward strike of his sand, attempting to crush Arashi under its weight.

The moment Rasa attacked, Arashi was eerily calm once again, and ignored Hiruzen in favor of trying to speak to Mei and Rasa.

"Why can't you understand, Mei-chan, Rasa-san?" Arashi questioned. He seemed almost as if he were going to cry. "Everything was stolen from Hecate-sama; those thieving heathens!_ They had no right!"_ Arashi spread his arms out, and he looked up at the cloudy night sky, smiling airily. "It's rightfully hers after all…why wouldn't _any_ loving parent want their beloved children to return?"

Rasa was even more weirded out then he was previously, if that were possible. Arashi kept focusing strangely on him and Mei, and the only time Sarutobi was acknowledged was if he had the nerve to disrespect this Hecate. If Hecate was supposedly some sort of weapon, why did Arashi act like it was alive?

Hiruzen began feeling like a fly on the wall. Sure, Arashi defended himself against Hiruzen's attacks, but he mostly ignored the man in favor of Mei and Rasa. That gave Hiruzen an idea.

"Down with Hecate!" Hiruzen yelled. That got Arashi's attention. Thinking of everything that Arashi had previously spouted off, he continued. "Hecate doesn't love anyone! It's just a mere _thing_ with no power! You've done all of this for nothing!"

The shift in Arashi could only be described as rage. A hate-filled glare that would have struck Hiruzen dead where he stood if it were possible.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Arashi's voice was shrill as he screeched. "How dare you have such disrespect for Hecate-sama?!"

Hiruzen cursed as a tidal wave of water and Killing Intent rushed over him. Hiruzen barely managed to cut through the water, and he had to dodge thousands of icy shards hidden within the water.

"_Aisutako no Kiba!" _Water tentacle that were several feet long with jagged icicles lashed out at them.

"Hecate is a joke!" Hiruzen continued as he dodged. "I have to wonder if you made her up to suck others into your delusion."

Arashi was becoming increasingly irrational as he fought. Now, his attention was on Hiruzen. "Your tainted blood is the only gift you have to offer Hecate-sama! You had better pray that she forgives you!"

Arashi barely reacted as an Earth Spike tore through his shoulder. He charged at Hiruzen, expanding his limbs to increase his strength. Hiruzen was pushed several feet backwards as he blocked the attack.

He shoved Arashi away with a _Wind Reaper,_ and followed it up with an _Earth Gun Jutsu. _The small rocks cut Arashi's face, and it made him look even more unhinged.

"He's not dodging like he was…" Hiruzen observed. He continued heckling, "Why would kids want to return to an abusive parent like Hecate? That isn't love!"

Arashi covered himself with water again, and icy shards rained down on Hiruzen. Hiruzen struggled somewhat from the increased weight as Arashi slammed into him. Hiruzen ignored the cuts that the ice gave him, and pushed back.

"Hecate doesn't love you!" Hiruzen shouted.

Arashi paused, for just a moment. "You dare to speak of things you don't understand! Hecate-sama spares her love for all those who bow down to her!"

Mei drew her kunai – the one that Arashi had given them – and she charged in. Arashi threw several icy shuriken at her, but she was not deterred. She could faintly hear Hiruzen yelling something over the buzzing in her ears, and she could see sand out of the corner of her good eye as it swooped in to protect her from the icicle-filled water tentacles.

Mei timed it, and used _Shunshin _to get up right next to Arashi.

Sand swooped by Mei, just as Arashi started to dodge her strike. He halted strangely, for a brief, few seconds before he started moving again. It was with that brief pause that gave Mei her opening.

Mei yelled as she drove the kunai into Arashi, and she heard how he gasped as his blood ran over her hands. It was so satisfying, listening to him die.

"This is for Tatsumaki," Mei whispered.

Arashi's arm wrapped around her into a hug, and his other hand rested on hers. Mei thought that Arashi was planning to take her with him into the afterlife. Readying herself to fight back, Arashi instead pulled himself closer and pushed on her hand so that the kunai drove deeper. His head rested against her shoulder, and through his wheezing breaths Mei heard him quietly whisper, "Thank you, Mei…"

Mei froze. "Arashi?"

Arashi went limp, and fell to the floor. His face no longer looked haggard; he looked peaceful. If it wasn't for the blood – he'd look as if he were sleeping.

"It's over…" Rasa sighed, as his sand returned to the gourd on his back.

Mei nodded in silent agreement, except, she didn't fully understand. Arashi just then, he didn't dodge when he could have – he – he _let_ her kill him – and with his dying breath, he thanked her… With his final three words, Mei had a sinking feeling that it was _him._

"…I hope so." Mei said. She decided that she would talk to those who had been closest to Arashi the past few months. If they wouldn't talk to her, perhaps T&I could persuade them. Mei wasn't really sure what was going on, and she hated not knowing. She had so many why and how questions.

"…For a few seconds there, I would swear that Arashi was his old self." Mei said, staring down at Arashi. She had to explain that Arashi hadn't dodged; that he had let himself be killed.

"We need to let everyone know that the Mizukage has been killed," Rasa stated. "Then, we'll deal with your suspicions."

"Of course, Kazekage," Mei agreed. She pulled out a scroll, and Unsealed its contents; which was a simple horn carved from whale bone. Mei raised the instrument to her lips, and applying chakra to her breath, she blew.

The sound was mournful and hollow, and it let all those who heard it know that the Mizukage had been killed.

The Shinobi who had been fighting for Arashi, knew then – it was either surrender and face whatever charges Mei decided; or to become Nuke-Nin.

For some, the choice was obvious: suicide. For others, it was facing Mei and hoping she'd have mercy. For the remaining lot, it was retreat and become Nuke-Nin.

Explosions went off as Shinobi began to flee.

The commanders of the squads knew better than to let Shinobi simply leave; especially when they followed after a madman. It was better to nip whatever they could in the bud so those escaping could not become problems down the line.

"Eliminate all those who are retreating! Spare no-one unless they peacefully surrender!"

If any of these people had an idea of who or what Hecate was, or where this weapon was located, they wanted to find it.

A long distance away on one of the smaller mountains, several figures were watching Arashi's men lose.

"Damn," the man twitched, and he shifted to glare at the Mizukage's Tower. With a disappointed whine in his tone he added, "Arashi broke out at the last minute."

The only woman among them said, "We should go, we don't want them to notice us."

"Wan-na…fi-i-i-ghhht…" another muttered. "Mom-my sa-a-i-id."

One of the men put his hand on his companion's shoulder. "You'll get your chance, now is not the time Hecate-sama wants us to act."

As they were so far away, covered by night in the fog, the woman was easily able to make a large, paper bird for transport and they disappeared over the horizon.

0000

The sun rose on a grisly scene. The battlefield was bloody, and there were carts set up to transport the dead; which had been sorted by who were their enemies and allies.

Everyone's wounds needed to be treated, so they were waiting for the Medic-Nin.

Funerals were set up even for their enemies, because Mei thought it was in poor taste to not have them; and to deter any restless spirits who may try to stick around. It was superstitious, she knew but there were people under her who would have worried about such things.

When the Kiri-Nin sent the last of their Shinobi into the afterlife that was when it truly hit them: they had won.

0000

Zabuza collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and relief. There were cheers and some who cried openly, so relieved that it was finally over.

His body was sore, and he had a few wounds that had been hastily bandaged. They weren't really a concern, but if Haku saw them he'd certainly make a fuss over them. Was Haku okay? Zabuza hoped that the kid was.

Just then…

"Zabuza-sama!"

"Zabuza!"

Haku and Anko, both of them looked exhausted – were running up to him. Zabuza was about to stand up to greet them, when Anko instead decided to tackle him and kiss him. While he was certainly happy to see her, he groaned as pain shot through his body.

Haku of course was concerned with his injuries, but Zabuza tried to wave him off.

"There are people who are more injured than I am, so you should check them out first."

"Quit being a difficult ass and let me see your injuries, Zabuza-sama!" Haku demanded. He blushed as he sat back on his heels. That reminded Zabuza quite a bit of Tsunade. "Please…I just want to make sure you're okay."

Anko rolled her eyes. "Just let him do a brief checkup to make sure nothing's going on, and then take care of the more serious folks."

It was enough of a compromise that both Haku and Zabuza were happy with it.

"Don't you have to be somewhere?" Zabuza asked.

"I already helped out where I could, and we aren't going to interrogate people until after your Kage is properly settled in. Besides, Ibiki wants to talk to the other T&I folks to determine what information they're looking for and what's to be shared." She rolled her eyes. "Knowing him, that's going to take _hours."_

Anko sat with Zabuza in companionable silence. His Kage, huh. Zabuza felt…he wasn't sure. Mei would be officially declared the new Mizukage, and what then? Their dream was finally coming to fruition. Zabuza couldn't really say that he'd properly ever known peace.

He glanced at Anko, who was leaning against him. She was halfway to being asleep.

"Hey, Anko?" Zabuza didn't shift all that much as to not disturb Anko.

"Hmm-mm?" came the tired reply.

"What do you intend to do after all this?"

Anko sat up and looked at him, blinking groggily. She yawned. "Return to Konoha, of course. I do _love_ my job."

"I see…"

"But of course, I'd like to see Kiri when it's not a warzone. And there's this awesome dango place located on a backstreet in Konoha that I think you'd enjoy. If you're ever passing through Fire Country and close by, my place is open."

"The summers here are nice. And it's been years since I've had dango."

Anko grinned at him. "We'll have to rectify that then."

Zabuza had never known peace, but he figured this was a good start.

00000

**An Author's Rambles:**

**I really wanted to get this published (finally), and I may just go through and edit the huge fight a bit. I'll y'all know if I do. **

**CRUDEN: Welcome aboard, First Mate.**


	3. Accidental Teamwork

**A/N: I haven't been sleeping much, my insomnia insists on rearing its ugly head. Coffee isn't helping, but I still drink it. So here we are. **

**This chapter covers the course of a few years. **

**Warning: a bit of violence, some possible OOC-ness, deviating from canon, taking liberties with Kekkei Genkai, a hint of body shaming (not sure if it's enough to warrant a warning, but just in case)**

**0000**

_Chapter Three: Accidental Teamwork Means People Hate Working Together On Purpose and Will Argue About It_

_Hiruzen makes a proposal to Mei and Rasa to ensure peace and cooperation between their villages. Itachi makes a decision. Kurenai has regrets._

0000

Over the course of the following weeks, Mei was busy dealing with people who had been loyal to Arashi's madness. She was between having to decide to outright execute people; or have trials to determine if they should go to prison for a set amount of time.

But the problem was – they didn't exactly have a prison. Keeping prisoners meant using resources and people they didn't exactly have. Keeping people alive was a major risk – and picking and choosing who she and her advisors thought deserved to live could lead to resentment.

Mei ended up leaving those determinations to Ao and his faction; because after her theory that Arashi wasn't himself throughout the majority of his reign likely meant that the people who served under him had been manipulated into committing their atrocious actions. None of the Kage liked the fact that Arashi had been manipulated, because that meant that there was an unknown enemy moving behind the scenes.

The only thing they could do now was be vigilant, and watch for anyone acting even the slightest bit out of character.

Mei was now meeting with Rasa and Hiruzen to determine where they would stand moving forward.

0000

Hiruzen had met with Jiraiya and Tsunade beforehand, to get their opinions on a certain matter. While Hiruzen certainly respected his advisors, Koharu and Homura would be heavily biased in their judgements.

"What do you think of your students, Tsunade-san?" Hiruzen asked.

Tsunade scoffed, and took a large drink of her alcohol. "They're a handful, that's for sure," she followed up her reply with a smirk, "But they're more than promising – and Haku, damn – the kid has potential. I'm keeping him."

(Somewhere, Haku felt a foreboding shiver and sneezed.)

Hiruzen chuckled. "Jiraiya…what do you think of the Suna and Kiri-Nin who were in your squad?"

"Well, they're pretty persistent, I'll say that…" Jiraiya frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you know what position we're in, considering if-_when_ Naruto comes back to Konoha." Hiruzen was quite serious. "Because when he does, you know who more than likely will be with him."

"Gaara…" Jiraiya nodded understandingly.

"Exactly…if Rasa realizes that his son has been alive all this time and we _possibly _knew it, he would more than likely take it as an insult…his reaction could go one of two ways. While most people understood not using Yagura to fight – there were a few Kiri, Suna and even Konoha-Nin wondering why neither Suna or Konoha weren't using our Jinchuuriki to fight…"

There was certainly elements of resentment from a few Shinobi, in some cases, they believed that if they had been able to use Naruto, so many wouldn't have died needlessly.

"We need to get ahead of this…make a bond between our Villages. There are those who won't like it, but this is one way I can think of to ensure peace between us."

"And what do you propose, old man?" Tsunade asked.

Hiruzen smirked; his sly smile was one that certainly said things would be interesting.

0000

"You want to what?" Rasa looked at Hiruzen with disbelief.

Mei chuckled. "Well, now…that's certainly ambitious. I like it."

Rasa sat, considering the proposal. He was limited in his options, and with only some reluctance he agreed.

"Then it's settled. We'll go over our terms and conditions that work out for all of us to see who goes where – and when we get back to our Villages, we can put forward the applications."

00000

Hiruzen sat in his office, looking over several documents. Much of it concerned Kiri, and Mei being officially appointed as Mizukage. She had various proposals for him and Rasa, and Hiruzen knew that Rasa would be busy going through similar files back in Suna.

There was also the fact that the Fire Daimyo was now acknowledging Suna once again, since Rasa and several Suna-Shinobi were considered a war heroes. Hiruzen felt as if the Fire Daimyo was a fool, because cutting off an entire country like he did – Rasa was clearly bitter about the fact.

Now that Suna had contributed its war efforts; and the fact that Mei and Hiruzen were singing Suna's praises, the Fire Daimyo was suddenly invested again. Unfortunately for the Fire Daimyo though; from what the rumors of Jiraiya's Wind Country contacts had reported; the Water Daimyo had been visiting Suna over the last few days. It seemed that the Water Daimyo wanted to pay Suna back for helping free Kiri.

Since the Fire Daimyo had technically dropped Suna, they no longer served under a lord. The Water Daimyo had plenty of influence and influential contacts, and he was working on trade agreements with Wind Country. The source of many of their issues was that Suna was too expensive; and they didn't really have money to spend in order to make money. But now the Water Daimyo was invested in finding ways Suna could support itself and generate a stable income. From what Jiraiya had heard, Rasa, Mei, and the Water Daimyo were involved in heavy political discussions and trade agreements. The Fire Daimyo technically no longer had a say in what Suna did or didn't do.

The Fire Daimyo was annoyed, and Hiruzen couldn't say that he felt sorry for the man. He was the one who decided to suddenly cut off his support. Now he was reaping that decision, because Rasa had no interest in returning to the one who had massively contributed to his problems in the first place.

All of this of course, led to a Council meeting between the Ninja Clans and the Civilian Council.

The Ninja Council saw the benefits in having Suna and Kiri as allies; while only a few of the Civilians saw the opportunities of having the two Countries as trading partners. There were businessmen who didn't want to take such a risk in partnering with "poor" countries. It would certainly take a while for the two country's economies to recover, but they could certainly help each other if they went about it correctly.

"We could outsource a few jobs, and I've wanted to expand my business for a while, now," one of the men said. "It would save us money."

It was obvious that "us" meant "him."

"I don't think the Kiri folks would appreciate being paid less – or being taken advantage of, considering their situation." one of the more shrewd businesswomen pointed out. "And the Kazekage has far too much pride. We'll have to go about dealing with him carefully; the man may be desperate to restore his village to its former glory; but he would view business proposals as an insult if he suspects that he's being lowballed. As would anyone with a lick of common sense."

"They could turn on us," one of the businessmen said. "The Fire Daimyo's not happy that the Kazekage is going to serve under the Water Daimyo…what does that mean for us?"

"Feh, the Fire Daimyo has no right to complain. We wouldn't be here if he hadn't dropped Suna in the first place!" one man stated as he slapped the table with his palm. "We have to do whatever we can to stay in both Suna and Kiri's good graces, now that they serve under one lord. They have more of a kinship than we do."

One of the business owners was a woman who spoke sternly. "I think we should protect our own assets. Let them recover on their own."

"Kiri is in our debt." Hiruzen sighed, letting a trail of smoke flow out into the air. "As is Suna, since we have Tsunade training a few of their Medic-Nin. Both Kiri and Suna have poisons and natural resources that they have agreed to trade – we have natural resources and spices.

"Kagayaki Haku is Tsunade's apprentice, and is close to the Fourth Mizukage's bodyguard – who I might also add – is involved with our own resident T&I specialist, Mitarashi Anko."

Having such a relationship could work to their advantage, Hiruzen would be the first to admit that. But some already saw it as scandalous. Others whispered under their breath that Anko could pry information from Zabuza; or maybe try and use him to influence the Mizukage. On the other side of the argument it was that Zabuza would be using Anko for information he had no business knowing.

Hiruzen disliked unfounded gossip; and at least no-one had said these things to Anko's face, or Zabuza's. Likely because they had _some_ semblance of self-preservation. Hiruzen could easily just imagine someone being foolish enough to spout off that nonsense – and having Anko torture them.

Then his mind thought of Zabuza…wielding his sword. 'My sword looks a little dull…how about you help me sharpen it?'

Hiruzen groaned internally as he now imagined the two standing over some hapless fool, both cackling as they prepared to torture and maim.

At least the fact of the matter was, the two were committed to the relationship. It was good that Mei openly supported them. Mei was also offering a few people as political/Kekkei Genkai marriage candidates – but only after things in Kiri calmed down. That was one can of worms Hiruzen didn't exactly want to deal with just yet – since that would mean having discussions with Konoha's resident Clans. A few civilian families might be willing to propose marriage, but that was still tentative.

"The Mizukage's adviser has one of our eyes." Hiashi's stern voice sounded. Hiruzen sighed, knowing how Hiashi felt about Kiri's partnership with them. There was no way Hiashi would even consider offering up Clan members to Kiri or even Suna.

"Well, I won't be demanding that they give the eye back, Hyuuga-san." Hiruzen said firmly. "The most I can do is request that he doesn't enter Konoha for your Clan's sake. Besides, I'm sure that Kiri is well aware of the political upheaval that would cause if Ao-san so much as crossed the border."

Hiashi seemed to relent, knowing when Hiruzen was done making a point.

Hiruzen had a smile, knowing that what he said next would surly ruffle more than a few feathers.

"I also intend to expand our partnership with Kiri and Suna by having specialized teams; one for each Country."

"What do you mean, Third?" Shikaku asked with his usual drawl.

"Konoha, Kiri, and Suna will each have a team that is comprised of someone from each country. It's an honor to be place on one of these teams, because they will represent the peace and unity between our countries."

The Civilain Council members protested. They didn't like the idea, as all they could see were the risks. There was even some clear hesitation from the Ninja Council. There could be spies among the teams.

"The Mizukage and Kazekage have already agreed – and there are no hard feelings if you do not wish to participate."

Aburame Tonbo nodded, "I think this work for all of us. Why? Because if something happens with Kumo," she looked pointedly at Hiashi over her sunglasses, "or any other Country, we can strike like an enraged tarantula hawk."

A few of her wasps buzzed around her head, and the people sitting closest to her understandably leaned away, nervously.

Of course, the fact that _three_ Countries were allying themselves would get everyone else's attention. The other Countries would be watching warily.

There was plenty of loud grumbling to go around.

Hiruzen raised a hand, and only let it down once the room was quiet. "I will say one thing – the Civilian Council has no say in this matter. The Civilian members present are not the ones who are offering up your children and Clan members here."

The Civilian Council had overstepped their bounds more than once. Back when the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha and was subsequently Sealed away, the Civilian Council demanded that the host to the Kyuubi be made public knowledge for everyone's best interest. Hiruzen had only agreed because he'd hoped that the civilians would see Naruto for the hero he was; instead, the civilians didn't fully understand how Seals worked. The entire thing had gotten blown out of proportion; and the resentment the civilians held bled out into the general populace. Since the Clan members hadn't been able to take in Naruto; if Naruto had been able to be considered just another civilian orphan, he could have gotten a normal enough home life.

But that was in the past, and it wouldn't do to look back on things he couldn't help with regret. Naruto was very likely happy where he was – traveling with Zoro and Gaara. Hiruzen knew he had to put his foot down before the Civilian Council could get any footholds.

Hiruzen turned to the Clan members. "We will have a strict selection for the team members; what are their skills; grades; how many missions have they completed? We will have Genin, Chuunin, and Jonin recruits. The actions of the teams and the individuals on them will reflect their respective countries."

Hiruzen gave a nod. "So, those of you who wish to put forth members of your Clans, you may give me a list on who you wish to submit for this proposition of peace; or simply state as such that you do not wish your Clan participates on the applications." Hiruzen passed out scrolls to the Clan Members. "We will not reveal who is or isn't participating – and you won't know until the teams are formed."

Itachi was there in place of Fugaku, who was currently on bedrest because his eyes had been giving him trouble as of late due to stress at work. Itachi took the scroll and said nothing; his expression gave away nothing. He quickly read over the proposal that Hiruzen had, more than once.

Without consulting the Clan or Fugaku, Itachi filled out the application and submitted it right then and there. No-one except a select few would know whether or not he approved the joint venture unless he revealed it himself.

The ones sitting around the table held mixed expressions; surprise; curiosity; disapproval for one thing or another. Itachi had responded rather quickly. The fact that an Uchiha was either against or in support of this radical plan would certainly make the gossip ear-grating for weeks to come.

Hiashi scowled, not liking how Itachi responded so quickly. He knew Itachi wasn't exactly like Fugaku. Fugaku would have gave a simple protest and left it at that. Itachi gave nothing away – but that didn't mean he didn't support the Third's farce of a proposal.

Hiruzen was curious, of course. Itachi hadn't even had the application for thirty minutes. If he truly disagreed with the team concept, then he would have openly said so – Fugaku very likely would have. But Itachi had read it over, and calmly wrote something down without consulting Fugaku. As Itachi was here as representative, he had every right to make whatever decisions he felt were best.

"Thank you for being the first to submit an application, Itachi-kun." Hiruzen said, trying not to overanalyze Itachi's actions.

"Hn," Itachi nodded.

Itachi had been getting an earful for the past few weeks, ever since the war ended. His father, while he knew the partnership between the three Countries was advantageous, he didn't like it.

Where people saw opportunities for peace and prosperity; Fugaku only saw risks. He was suspicious of spies and corruption; heavily disliked that Tsunade would choose a Kiri-Nin as her apprentice; didn't like the relationship between Zabuza and Anko; he was sure that they'd turn on each other sooner than later.

Kiri was infamous for going decades without having more interims in the Mizukage position and turning on each other for the temporary position. The Mizukage's role was not one to be envied, considering the First and Third Mizukage.

Fugaku's opinion was, _"The Third has allied us with savages." _

Suna didn't hold as much of Fugaku's ire.

000

Shisui was waiting for Itachi outside, and he easily fell into step beside him as they walked.

"So, how'd it go?"

"The Third had a radical idea on implementing teams that represent Konoha's peace with Kiri and Suna. The Clans and Sensei at the Academies will be able to submit their recommendations for consideration."

Shisui was staring at him, with some mild concern. "Oh. Wow. What are you planning to do?"

"As the Uchiha Clan's stand-in, I submitted Sasuke's application, of course."

Shisui's eyes widened. He spoke in a low-tone, making sure only Itachi heard him. Shisui even put up a minor Genjutsu around them just to make sure that no-one could overhear. "Itachi-shit, Itachi. What are you thinking? Uncle Fugaku _isn't_ going to like that. He's going to be _so_ pissed off."

Shisui warned him quite needlessly.

"I'm well aware." Itachi sighed, quietly. "Controlling his temper is all on him, anyway."

"Are you sure, Itachi? I mean…" Shisui's voice trailed off.

"You know what Father wanted, Shisui – it could lead to the end of everything we hold dear. You know what I'd have to do if it came down to that."

The cousins walked in silence for a bit, until Shisui spoke up. "You're playing a dangerous game, Itachi. I'm not sure what you're trying to do – I have something of an idea – but the less I know, the better, right? Just know that I don't like it."

"You just have to know that I'm doing this is for the sake of our Clan and Konoha, nothing more. I'll do anything to ensure our survival."

Shisui ran his hands down his face, stretching the skin a bit while he sighed heavily. He then dropped his hands down by his side.

"Yeah, me too. No matter what."

00000

Upon hearing the news of what happened at the Council meeting and what Itachi had done, the tension mounted to near-suffocating levels.

"You _what?!" _Fugaku's eyes flared, the pupils nearly turning black. Fugaku wheezed in pain as his eyes began bleeding. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, in an effort to relieve the pain, even just a little.

Mikoto had a cold cloth on hand for occasions such as this. She pried Fugaku's hands away from his face, then pressed the cloth to his eyes. It offered some relief.

"How could you do this, Itachi?!" Fugaku demanded as he shoved the cloth away. Fugaku was yelling and glaring at Itachi. The pupils of his eyes expanded rapidly, leaving a small, thing ring of red. Fugaku winced in obvious pain, as even the slightest bit of light hitting his corneas made it feel like his eyes were burning from the inside out.

He accepted the cloth this time, pressing it against his eyes.

"You know how the villagers still view us, Father, even after eleven years have passed." Itachi stated. "This is an effort to show our support of the Third, and the peace between our villages. If Sasuke is selected – he will not only represent Konoha, he will represent our Clan."

It didn't feel right, putting that much pressure on Sasuke, but there was no other choice. Besides, Itachi knew that Sasuke was of strong enough character to bear such a burden.

"You shouldn't needlessly stress out your father, Itachi." Mikoto gently scolded, before she turned to her husband. "Maybe you should consider seeing Tsunade-hime?"

"Absolutely not! I don't trust that woman." Fugaku argued. "She left the village; is training both Kiri and Suna – she should be keeping whatever medical Jutsu she has within Konoha! Who knows what that Ice-Jutsu user will do? He could easily take the knowledge of the Sharingan back to Kiri! They could attack us and steal our eyes!"

"I know that there's a history with the Third and Second, but…" Mikoto tried again.

"_ENOUGH!"_ Fugaku practically convulsed in his pain. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Fugaku, you're obviously in pain – and your eyes are killing you!" Mikoto desperately persisted. "There are people here who can help you if you'd let them!"

"The Third may be willing to put our lives at risk, but I'm not!" Fugaku insisted. He then shooed at Itachi. "Leave us."

Itachi bowed and left, gently closing the sliding door behind him.

It wasn't until Itachi was in the privacy of his room that he collapsed at his table and sighed in exhaustion and relief. He massaged his temples, and wished for something to drink.

Like an answer to his wish, Shisui showed up with some sake and two cups.

"So…that bad?" Shisui asked as he poured the sake.

"Father doesn't want Tsunade or her apprentices to touch him. He's far too suspicious."

"…But he'll die without treatment…" Shisui muttered. "That's a risk for us too, right?"

"We should schedule an appointment just in case." Itachi said, as he stared into his cup. "I'd hate to see Sasuke suffer…"

"Hmm." Shisui agreed. He briefly wondered if the Hyuuga suffered any ill-effects with their eyes.

"It was worse this time. Mother doesn't want me stressing him out."

"Uncle Fugaku's had a temper for as long as I've known him." Some would say that was what made Fugaku such an effective leader; it was far better to do what you were told, than to face Fugaku's wrath.

"I know that stressing him out isn't helping him in the slightest, but I don't like the other option. It feels better doing it this way, because controlling his temper is all on him, isn't it? I guess I tell myself that to lessen my guilt."

Itachi nearly emptied his cup with a large gulp. He shivered a little at the sting in his throat.

"But what choice do I have? Father isn't doing us any favors by distancing the Clan from the village… He's still hunting after Naruto…"

There was certainly some relief that came with the fact that there was no hope in finding the boy. Danzo had been fruitlessly sending his ROOT agents out searching for Naruto. Thanks to Itachi and Shisui's various interferences when they went on missions outside of the Village; and Jiraiya's planting of fakes, and continuing to insist that Naruto was hidden away somewhere; there were always false leads that led nowhere. Wasting time and resources – with the cousins and Jiraiya having no idea the other existed, and unwittingly working together.

This left Danzo and Fugaku both completely flummoxed and frustrated.

Shisui frowned thoughtfully. It was a good thing Itachi was drinking at home in a room with noise-canceling Seals, and not in public – he was a talkative drunk. While on missions, Itachi always had to water down his drinks and take special pills that helped absorb alcohol – because he got far too talkative and open while inebriated.

Itachi filled their cups again. Shisui wasn't sure what was worse; assassinating someone quickly with a blade; or killing them slowly through a rapidly spreading disease. Shisui said nothing, because as he had said earlier: the less he knew, the better.

Danzo still had plenty of influence and a hold over them. Danzo was constantly surrounded by his bodyguards, so getting him alone was next to impossible. Even if they could somehow get the man alone, Danzo inexplicably suddenly disappearing or turning up dead would pose far too many questions.

They would have to bide their time.

0000

Itachi didn't bother saying anything to the members of his Clan as he and Shisui took Sasuke to the hospital.

"Why are we here?" Sasuke whispered to Itachi. "I thought father didn't want us coming here."

"You know father's situation, Sasuke," Itachi said quietly as he tapped Sasuke's forehead – which made Sasuke scowl and push away his hand. "It's to make sure the same thing isn't happening to us. It's better to be on top of this before your Sharingan develops."

Sasuke nodded, and he looked around the waiting room as they well, waited.

People were called into various rooms by workers who wore Suna, Kiri, and Konoha symbols. It was interesting. Sasuke had heard his father talk plenty of times on how Suna and Kiri weren't trustworthy. He seemed to think that they were planning something. Tsunade wasn't trustworthy either, in Fugaku's opinion.

But Itachi and Shisui seemed to think differently.

Not long after, they were called into a room. Haku was somewhat nervous as he had recently started treating patients on his own; Tsunade trusted him enough to work alone and not permanently maim or kill anyone.

Haku was friendly enough for a Kiri-Nin, Sasuke thought. Plus, Haku acknowledged him along with his brother and cousin, and didn't talk about Sasuke as if he wasn't there.

Sasuke went first, doing the typical checkup routine.

"Has your Sharingan developed, yet?" Haku asked, and Sasuke shook his head.

Haku wrote something down on the clipboard.

"Kagayaki-san," Itachi spoke up. "There is something…I ask that you keep it between us…"

Haku nodded. "Of course."

"Can you…check my eyes?"

Itachi activated his Sharingan, and Haku placed his cool hands over Itachi's eyes and over his temples and scanned his eyes with glowing, green chakra.

Haku frowned. "Can you deactivate and reactivate your eyes for me, please?"

Haku's frowned deepened when Itachi complied. He turned to Shisui. "Do you have the same problem? Can I look?"

Shisui also went through the same routine, and Haku made a face. This was a case of Kekkei Genkai poisoning – though not as severe as Kimimaro's had been. But it would get worse over time.

"The Sharingan is slowly eating away at the corneas when you activate it, and deteriorating the optic nerve when it's active. It's also dilating your pupils ever so slightly – letting in too much light. The more you use it, the worse it's going to get…you're likely going to go blind – and I can tell you it's going to be painful because of the pressure of your chakra on the optic nerves. Essentially, your chakra is rotting the eye out."

Sasuke looked at his brother and cousin with open concern.

"Can you do anything about it?" Itachi asked. If this happened to Sasuke…

"Maybe? Let me think…" Haku said as he grabbed his clip board and some blank paper. He muttered to himself as he scribbled down an eye and several other details. He thought of the various theories he was working on with Tsunade. The testing while it had shown promising results, they hadn't exactly tested them on people. "I might be able to try something, but it's more experimental than anything…"

Haku showed them his crude drawing. "Using a thin layer of ice chakra, I could make a series of filtering systems for your chakra so that it circles back in on itself…theoretically taking pressure off of the nerves and rapidly slowing down the deterioration…maybe even make a layer for your blood to filter through…"

"Whatever you have to do, Kagayaki-san."

Haku looked nervous, and nodded.

He could use Sasuke's eyes as a foundation of sorts. Getting a sense of how the eyes felt without the Sharingan helped. It was a slow process; Haku began to slowly put a wall of chakra between Itachi's chakra and his eyes. He made a series of pin-hole sized holes so that Itachi's chakra could come through to activate the Sharingan and still create Genjutsu; then he made a complicated filtering system of sorts that lined along the optic nerves that looped in on itself and went back to the eye.

He put a protective layer of netting-like chakra over the cornea and around the optic nerves, ensuring that no pressure would be on them. This way, essential chakra could still get through, but wasn't blocking off anything important.

Finally, he put a thin layer of chakra in Itachi's pupils so that it acted as a sort of internal sunglasses to protect the cornea from too much light.

It took Itachi activating and deactivating his Sharingan a few times before Haku was satisfied with his work. Other than feeling a bit stiff, Itachi's eyes were fine; Haku assured him that his eyes would adjust in a few hours. His case fortunately wasn't as severe as his father's, and they had gotten ahead of it.

Shisui was next, and Sasuke wouldn't need to have anything done until his Sharingan activated.

They thanked Haku and were on their way.

Itachi decided not to mention the hospital visit unless he were asked. It was better for Fugaku to approach with anger and accusations; rather than Itachi shove whatever defiance he had in Fugaku's face.

0000

Sasuke was looking forward to attending the academy, but at the same time, he sort of dreaded it. His parents, Itachi, Shisui, and several other cousins all had esteemed records. Sasuke felt that he was entering the game a little late. He had certainly trained, but wasn't allowed to attend the academy until he was a few years older than Itachi had been.

There was also the fact that some people still resented the Uchiha for their actions during the Kyuubi attack. Things had calmed down considerably since then, but Sasuke still saw the occasional glare and sneer being sent his or his family's way.

At this point, Sasuke didn't really know what to do with himself; coming from a prestigious family. He couldn't help but compare himself to Itachi. _Constantly_. He knew the ages his family members were when they mastered Fire Jutsu, their Sharingan activated…and Sasuke had barely done any of those things yet.

He had one and-a-half of Fire Jutsu mastered; both Itachi and Shisui worked with him on practical skills; he had decent enough stamina and endurance.

Sasuke hated how the girls stared at him and tittered. So far, it was only Hinata who kept to herself and barely acknowledged him unless he went out of his way to say something to her. Which he didn't, unless he really had to. She would look at him and stutter and blush; and then sink into her jacket. She did that with everyone, so Sasuke wasn't put-off by it.

Since Sasuke didn't want to draw attention to himself, he decided to act serious and aloof in public – but that backfired because people found those traits appealing for some asinine reason. He'd established himself as having this serious persona, and it was too late to drop the act now.

Sasuke managed to seat himself next to a dozing Shikamaru, but he had Sakura sitting on his other side, and she kept trying to talk to him. Meanwhile, Ino was sitting behind Sasuke and hissing insults at Sakura.

"What do you think of that, Sasuke?"

…He hadn't been paying attention to what she was saying. He'd been drowning her out since she sat down.

A neutral response would be best.

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged, and Sakura looked almost disappointed for some reason. Was whatever she was trying to say really that important?

"Alright class," Iruka-sensei spoke up, as he clapped his hands to get their attention. "As you know, the Konoha-Kiri-Suna peace agreement means that a new, unique team formation has been created. Konoha has the Genin team.

"We have two new students who will be joining us." Iruka motioned to the two kids next to him. "Hōzuki Suigetsu from Kiri and Pakura from Suna. There are those of you here who are under consideration for being put on a team that represents the unity and peace between our Villages. It is a great honor to be chosen. There is a strict selection pool that heavily depends on your personal performance in the Academy. No-one will know who is in the running, so all of you do your best to be considered as the third teammate."

Already, the students were talking as the two took a seat next to each other. Suigetsu leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk.

"Can you _try_ to be a bit more polite, Hōzuki?" Pakura's voice said. "You're representing more than just yourself, you know."

Suigetsu snorted and waved her off. "Yeah, yeah…I'm too tired to care 'bout bein' polite."

"Don't you think that Pakura girl has weird hair, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"You would know." Sasuke replied, and Sakura looked hurt, for some reason. Sakura was a girl with long hair, so logically she _would_ know if another girl's hair was "weird". Sure, it was two-toned, but who was he to give an opinion on something that had no effect on him?

00000

Iruka glanced at his students – Pakura and Suigetsu were fitting in well enough, he thought. Suigetsu's grades were just passable enough to not get a failing grade. At first, Iruka thought that Kiri was messing with them. But Suigetsu was Mangetsu's younger brother – and from what Iruka had heard, Mangetsu was incredibly talented as both a Swordsman and a Shinobi. Iruka decided that he would take a closer look before brushing the boy off. He assigned several practical written exams regarding scenarios that Shinobi could find themselves in.

Suigetsu proved to be insanely creative – sneaking in through the pipes and water faucets were the last places people would expect. People often dropped their guards in bathrooms. Suigetsu was lazy, and liked taking shortcuts. Unlike Shikamaru who did the bare minimum (Iruka heavily suspected Shikamaru could do more, but the boy just didn't put in the effort) Suigetsu went about doing things in the laziest, quickest ways possible. It was becoming abundantly clear why Suigetsu had been chosen.

Pakura was…well, quite an overachiever. She did way more than what was required. She expanded on scenarios that took into account all the ways a situation could go wrong – with countermeasures in place. What was a one-page essay often turned into five or even eight pages with her. Iruka finally had to put a note next to her grade that she didn't have to do so much, and limited her to two or three scenarios at most.

0000

When Iruka had a sparring match for the kids, most of them groaned.

"Pakura, you're up…" Iruka glanced down at the class list. "…Against Kyoga."

"Alright!" Pakura pumped her fist.

"I have to fight a girl?" Kyoga complained.

"Afraid you can't win?" Pakura asked as she assumed a fighter's stance.

Kyoga was taller and bulkier, and Pakura was shorter and leaner.

Kyoga clearly thought he could win just by throwing himself at Pakura and punching. Pakura easily dodged at the last minute, ducked down – and delivered a kick to Kyoga's knee just before his foot came down.

Kyoga yelled out in pain and surprise as his dislocated knee caused him to fall face first to the ground.

"Get up, Kyoga!" Pakura demanded, still looking ready to fight. "Surely a simple knee injury isn't that bad! Pop it back into place and keep going!"

Kyoga moaned painfully in response.

Mizuki sighed. "Well, I'll take care of the kid."

Kyoga was carried off, and Pakura looked as if _she'd_ been the one injured.

"Sensei, that wasn't even a fight, can I go again?"

Kiba raised his hand. "Oh! Can I fight her, Sensei?"

"Very well…" Iruka could only sigh.

Kiba was more of a street brawler with claws; while Pakura used her smaller stature to her advantage. She used people's momentum against them; and delivered rapid kicks and punches that would impede a person so she could create her own openings. It was sort of like a dance with her, as Pakura primarily focused with swift, spinning kicks that made getting close somewhat difficult.

Kiba had wrestled plenty of times with the dogs, his cousins, and his sister, so he was much better at counterattacking. Pakura kept up with him; and when she threw dirt at Kiba in an attempt to blind him, that suddenly turned into a free-for-all attack for Kiba.

He started going after Pakura by running on all fours – twisting and dodging as he ran. He sent a series of rapid kicks, and Pakura blocked with her own. Twisting out of the way, she thrusted a kick into Kiba's side, aiming for his kidney.

Kiba thought that this was great, because none of the girls fought like this. Most of them complained about fighting. Hinata didn't complain, and held back. Ino would fight, but she did a lot more dodging than actual fighting. Sakura tried to fight, but being from a civilian family meant that she didn't have all the training that Clans offered. Pakura fought with her all, and fully expected Kiba to do the same.

Kiba's nails raked across Pakura's cheek, and she yelped and collapsed to the ground, holding onto her wound. Pakura sniffled, and Kiba froze. He took a few steps forward, in concern. "I'm sor—"

Kiba was cut off when Pakura leapt up, and tackled him. She wrapped herself rapidly around him, practically clamoring over him and knocking Kiba off balance. A smirk was on her face.

"You're too nice a guy, Inuzuka!"

"Hey! I thought you were _crying!"_

He was admittedly a bit insulted that he had fallen for such a classic trick.

Kiba managed to twist away from her, and charged after Pakura. He managed to tackle her to the ground; and Pakura rolled with him. This was less like a spar and more like inelegant roughhousing.

Pakura ended up straddling Kiba, and Kiba had a hand around her throat.

Iruka ended up blowing his whistle signaling that their time was over.

In the end, it was considered a draw; because from the position that they ended up in, Pakura could have crushed Kiba's throat' and Kiba could have ripped hers out.

"I had fun, Inuzuka. Let's do it again, sometime."

Kiba grinned. "Next time, Akamaru and I will take you on."

Pakura didn't seem to care that her cheek was bleeding, and she wanted to stay and watch the rest of the spars. A few of the girls of the class stared at her and cringed a bit as she rubbed dirt into her wound "to stop the bleeding."

Iruka sighed again, and hoped that her wound wouldn't be infected. Maybe one of the Medic-Nin could scold her later about rubbing dirt in her wounds.

They had a few more rounds of spars – and he ended up having one boy named Yuta go against Suigetsu. Suigetsu acted as if this was the worst thing in the world and sighed dramatically and very put upon. Yuta clearly didn't think much of Suigetsu.

In Iruka's personal opinion, Yuta was incredibly skilled even for being from a civilian family. But Yuta had a tendency to think a bit too highly of himself. He at least had the common sense to not pick fights he couldn't win.

Yuta practically sauntered over to the center of the sparring ring; while Suigetsu trudged over as if he were being forced into a T&I session.

Yuta hadn't seen Suigetsu do much of anything, other than just laze around. He also had a sword, but he couldn't use it now. It was probably that sword that made him so special. Yuta was of the opinion that if _this_ guy could get a place on those special teams, then how hard could it be?

A loud whistle signaled the start of the bout. Yuta charged forward, his fist drawn back. Suigetsu didn't bother to move, and continued to look bored.

Yuta's fist connected with Suigetsu's face.

"What?!"

Yuta's fist _sunk_ _into_ Suigetsu's face, and was trapped. Yuta struggled to pull away, but to no avail. Suigetsu smirked, his sharp teeth glistened as he went into a twisting motion that pulled Yuta off of his feet; and he held onto the other boy in such way that his arm wouldn't be broken.

Yuta was mercilessly thrown to the ground, and had the wind knocked out of him. Suigetsu was already on his feet and he pointed at Yuta. "I could kill you right now if I wanted."

Yuta glared venomously, but that only amused Suigetsu.

Iruka sighed even more heavily than last time. That wasn't exactly what he'd wanted – but Suigetsu had shown an incredible level of control. Plus, having a Kekkei Genkai that made physical attacks relatively useless…Iruka would probably have to train with the kid to make sure he was prepared to go against someone who could probably kill him if he wasn't careful.

"That wasn't what Iruka-sensei wanted, Hōzuki." Pakura admonished. "It's called a sparring match for a reason – your Taijutsu needs to be perfectly honed."

"Meh…you're a sparring match." Suigetsu replied, not really caring in the slightest.

Iruka made a few notes about Suigetsu in his report. He'd make Suigetsu work hard, no matter what. Suigetsu involuntarily shivered. Something was amiss. He glanced around, looking for the threat. The only threat(s) was the disapproving glare Pakura was sending his way for not taking the sparring match all that seriously; the glare from Yuta, for beating his ass in around fifteen seconds if that; and the calculating gaze from Iruka-sensei, who seemed to be watching him. Maybe he was overthinking…?

The sparring matches were soon over, and Iruka and Mizuki were busy making notes on everything the students needed work on.

0000

In the evenings, when Iruka was alone with his work, he often wondered how Naruto was doing. Was he happy? Was Zoro taking care of him? What would things be like now if Naruto had stayed? Iruka would go to Naruto's old apartment every few days to clean it; just making sure that dust didn't build up and the empty fridge was aired out. Iruka also made sure that nothing was moth eaten. Iruka wanted to make sure that when Naruto returned, he'd have a clean place to return to. He felt as if Naruto returning to a dirty apartment meant that no-one cared that he was gone.

So, Iruka waited. On his days off, he'd sometimes venture down to the gate and talk with Kotetsu and Izumo on the days they had sentry duty. He wanted to be there when Naruto returned, to show that someone was waiting for him.

It was a nice routine.

0000

One day, a few weeks after having attended the academy, Sasuke managed to snag a seat next to Kiba, and he hoped that one of the other guys would find the empty seat next to him before any of the girls. Sasuke's hopes were dashed when Pakura sat next him.

She nodded in greeting, and he waited for her to make awkward attempts at conversation; smile at him; peek at him out of the corner of her eye not-so-subtly; except she didn't do any of those things. Not really.

"Good morning," Pakura greeted very pleasantly, and not at all making those googly faces at Sasuke.

"Morning," Sasuke greeted a bit stiffly.

"Hey, Pakura!" Kiba greeted happily.

Akamaru yipped a greeting.

"It's fascinating that you have an animal partner, Inuzuka. How long have you been working together?"

"A few years, now."

"Impressive. I've always been curious how Human and animal teams can coordinate themselves so well. You two are amazing, I find myself having to get creative in countering your attacks."

Pakura really talked very strange for a girl her age, in Sasuke's opinion.

"Of course we're awesome!" Kiba grinned, and Akamaru barked in agreement. "It's lots of hard work, my ma and my big sis have strict breeding requirements for the dogs. Any dog that we can't use is given to the farmers to help protect their livestock, or just regular pets. Akamaru was given to me as a puppy – I'll probably have a pack of my own once I'm a Jonin. Though – I'm aiming for Chunin, but I don't wanna be too ambitious."

"Ambition is what drives us forward, Inuzuka. You should aim for that goal and higher, and not settle for less."

Kiba grinned at her. Sasuke remained silent, happy to be ignored.

"What are your goals in becoming a Shinobi?" Pakura asked.

"So far, I want to master some awesome moves with my buddy…" Kiba shrugged nonchalantly.

"Truly admirable. What about you, Uchiha?"

Not expecting to be addressed, Sasuke mumbled a bit awkwardly, "Oh-uh, um…" he hadn't really thought about what he wanted to do beyond the academy as of yet since they had only just started. He made it up as he went along. "I want to master all Fire Jutsu, create a few of my own Jutsu, and activate my Sharingan before I'm er…fourteen? What about you?"

Pakura smiled, and her back was straight as she shifted in her seat. "I have a list of Jutsu I intend to master by the time I graduate, and it only goes up from there. I intend to only spend a certain number of years as a Genin and Chunin before moving on to Jonin. Afterwards, I'll work in the Kazekage's or – maybe in this case, the Hokage's office in some capacity where all of my skills are utilized."

"Wow, uh…that's a lot." Kiba replied.

"Okay…" Sasuke wasn't sure what to say to that.

"I have a list. It's my twenty-year plan – with an extra five-year cushion if something gets derailed. Unpredictable events and recovery from debilitating injuries must be taken into consideration."

"HEY!" the shout drew the three's attention.

Sakura, Ino, and several other girls were glaring venomously at Pakura.

Pakura glanced from Sasuke and Kiba to the girls and back. "What's going on?"

"What do you think you're doing, sitting next to Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes and massaging his temples.

"I'd be jealous of you, but I feel like I dodged a shuriken." Kiba whispered to Sasuke. Sasuke could only glare sulkily at him.

"…Having a conversation." Pakura slowly replied to the girls, as if she were talking to small, simple-minded children.

"Yeah right! I bet you're trying to steal him!"

"Just because you think he's attractive doesn't mean you get to keep him all to yourself!"

"Ugh, so troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered from where he sat. The girls were always too damn loud.

Pakura rolled her eyes, and slammed her palm down on the desk as she stood.

"Don't you have any pride as women? Self-respect? Is this a _game_ to you? Are we here to play house? Do you think we come here to pick out boyfriends?!" Pakura sounded incensed. The girls – the entire class stared at her. "The future of Konoha's Kunoichi look less than promising. How pathetic and shameful! You don't deserve to be in the presence of Shinobi, much less reside in a Ninja village!"

Pakura looked ready and willing to fight a group of enraged girls.

Iruka had walked into the classroom in the middle of Pakura's speech.

"Pakura-chan!" Iruka's voice carried unnaturally loud for a moment, giving Pakura and the other girls pause. Iruka had an expression of exasperation. He had been trying to get her attention in the middle of her speech, but Pakura was really into it. "Erm…please, sit down."

"Forgive me, Sensei!" Pakura bowed and sat down, looking rather intently and very expectantly at him.

Iruka pointedly narrowed his gaze at the other girls. _"All_ of you. Now."

The girls grumbled about not being able to sit next to Sasuke, and went to find their own seats. Sasuke sent Pakura a look of relief that she didn't seem to notice. Being able to sit next to a girl and not have her fawning all over him was all-too welcome. A thought that having her as a shield against the other girls did briefly cross his mind, but Sasuke shoved that aside. Pakura hadn't actively sought him out in the past, and the one time she sat next to him she spoke more to Kiba, and sort of included him in the conversation. Sasuke wondered if he could get away with occasionally sitting next to her – and somehow having someone else on his other side.

Pakura sent the girls a side-eyed glare. It was disappointing that so many of them focused on this Sasuke guy for something so shallow. Sure, he was an Uchiha – that alone was impressive. She wanted to spar with him – to see if his being an Uchiha merited the admiration.

Personally, she'd wanted the girls to start a fight over not being able to sit next to Sasuke. She'd show them a _real_ fight; broken nails and messed up hair included.

Suigetsu snorted from where he sat, reclining in his seat. He eyed the girls, letting them know that he was clearly talking about them; and to see their reactions. "Wow, that's some level of pathetic desperation. No wonder Konoha's Kunoichi are so pathetic."

He laughed at their angry outbursts of denial and accusations.

Iruka found himself sighing a lot more lately.

Mizuki found himself feeling more exhausted and wanting to frequent his favorite bar more than just a few days a week.

The other teachers disliked the mounting drama that had reared its ugly head in their class lately.

0000

A few days later, Pakura's wish came true. Getting to spar against Sasuke – she'd seen what he could do. If she wanted to improve herself, then Sasuke was the one to go up against.

"You better not hurt Sasuke-kun!" one girl's whiny voice called out.

Pakura rolled her eyes and stretched. "Oh, please. If your precious _Sasuke-kun,"_ Pakura imitated the whine impressively, "keels over against someone like me, then he should just quit. Are you doubting him?"

That seemed to shut the other girls up. _Finally._

Sasuke had seen Pakura fight, and he knew that she was actually really skilled. Pakura could adapt if she needed to, and Sasuke considered finding ways to not be predictable.

There was a whistle, and a call of, "Fight!"

Pakura charged forward, and came in low. Sasuke jumped back, and dodged to the side to strike. But Pakura reached out to both block his punch and pulled him along with her. She bodily threw both of them to the ground; and she'd landed on top of his arm. Pakura then wrapped her legs around his and head-butted him. Blood poured from his nose and his eyes watered.

Sasuke was honestly taken aback. He hadn't anticipated her using such moves – and he'd been focusing on their legs, not thinking that Pakura would use a freaking _head-butt. _He managed to disentangle himself from her, and delivered swift kicks to her stomach and chest as he went.

Pakura glared at him as she forced herself to move through gasping breaths. She didn't look angry – but…excited? Sasuke had no idea how girls' minds worked.

Sasuke then began using moves that he'd been working on with Shisui. They were more Chunin level, and honestly, Sasuke would have to grow into them. He couldn't use them too much without straining himself.

Sasuke kicked, and Pakura caught his leg. Sasuke rolled with his kick and followed with his other leg. Pakura struck his shin with her palm, and Sasuke winced because that hurt. But he saw that Pakura had winced and shook and flexed her hand.

The two went back and forth, Pakura keeping up and Sasuke constantly having to keep on his toes. Sasuke managed a few strikes, and drew blood. Pakura had managed a few more hits as well. This was elating, and Sasuke found himself having genuine fun. Pakura's competiveness was bringing out his own. Her fighting style was different, and he had to adapt to it.

Sasuke managed to twist himself around Pakura when she came in for a strike; and he tried throwing her to the ground. Pakura instead shoved off of the ground, but used her injured hand. Instead of escaping his hold, Pakura's arm buckled.

She cursed herself for underestimating her mild injury.

Sasuke stood over her victoriously for a few seconds before he helped her up.

"Thanks, Uchiha." Pakura cradled her hand a bit.

"Sure…for what?"

"For taking me seriously." Pakura had a ghost of a smile.

"…Why wouldn't I?" Sasuke asked genuinely.

He didn't know what the expression on Pakura's face was, exactly. But none of her usual hardness was there.

Sasuke walked with her to the nurse's office.

The nurse ran some glowing green chakra over their wounds, and gave them a few vitamin supplements to help them heal. They had to rest a few minutes before moving.

Pakura looked at him determinedly. "I'll last longer against you next time, so you better watch out, Uchiha. I'll make you work to the bone for every victory against me until I win."

Sasuke smiled, if only a little. "Hn."

Pakura seemed satisfied with that response.

0000

Suigetsu could actually use Taijutsu if he bothered to put effort into it. Suigetsu proved to be tricky, because his Kekkei Genkai made it extremely difficult to land a solid hit on him. Either he could absorb his opponent's strikes and trap them; or he was flexible that he could basically turn his joints to liquid and the attacks had no effect at all. Since he wasn't actually using his Kekkei Genkai against his opponent, then he was basically following the rules.

Iruka knew that this sort of thing would make a person cocky, and Suigetsu had that cockiness in droves. But cockiness could prove to be a death sentence if the right opponent came along. He'd start training with Suigetsu later that day. But Suigetsu would also prove useful for showing people how to move – and there was no worry about him getting injured. It was perfect!

Suigetsu shivered once again, and this time – he caught the calculating gaze Iruka was sending him and the boy knew that it didn't bode well at all, in any way whatsoever.

00000

Iruka's training involved forcing Suigetsu to not rely so much on his Kekkei Genkai. Plus, Iruka once – only once – when Suigetsu caught Iruka's hand in his stomach, Iruka released a small burst of chakra that terrified Suigetsu because he had felt the injury – and he even coughed up a small bit of blood.

It was theoretical on Iruka's part. If Suigetsu could learn to manipulate his chakra around that of his opponent's while trapping them – then he could probably crush, twist off, and explode limbs. Someone else could easily think of the same solution that Iruka did – but that would be their downfall. To whoever would be Suigetsu's Sensei – Iruka would pass the message along.

He saw that Suigetsu could actually work hard – if he was frustrated and wanted to achieve something. It was also probably because his life was on the line.

0000

Ino, Sakura, and several of the other girls in the class found themselves in agreement with one thing: Pakura. Who did she think she was, coming in here?! Talking to Sasuke so casually! She talked to the other boys as well. Plus, Sasuke actually sought _her_ out at times. They talked about fighting, books, and well – just about _things. _What right did Pakura have to have those conversations with Sasuke?!

Iru, one of the girls that just about rivaled Ino in terms of beauty decided that she would play dirty. Pakura would know a thing or two about dirt, after all. She should know her place.

At lunch a few weeks later, Iru stared in disapproval at Pakura's lunch. A few of the other girls sat back and observed the exchange.

"Don't you know that sort of food makes you fat, Pakura-chan?" Iru asked way too nicely to be considered friendly.

Pakura glanced down her meat skewers, cooked veggies, and rice; then back to Iru. "What?"

"I mean, you could stand to lose a few pounds. Bigger girls don't really get the attention of boys, you know." Iru tsk'd. "I mean, I'm just trying to help another girl out."

"I…I'm fat?" Pakura took a noticeably smaller bite of her food.

"Wellll…maybe _not_ fat, but muscular women aren't that attractive to guys either. Boys don't like girls who look so manly. You should learn to be a bit more delicate – pay attention to how you look. Those clothes don't flatter you at all."

Pakura's outfit showed off her bare shoulders – probably because anything too tight would tear at the seams.

"Gomie Iru, wasn't it? Um…what do you eat?"

"Rice, plain noodles, and salad of course." Iru flicked her hair.

"How much do you eat? When…when do you eat?" Pakura seemed to have lost her appetite as she set her meal aside.

"Only once a day, that's all I need. Sometimes I eat two small meals a day. It would work wonders for you."

Pakura made a face. "What about proteins, and calcium…and…vitamins?"

"Oh, I just have to take supplements for that." Iru laughed.

"Oh, okay…"

"Well, I'm just trying to help, you know. That's what friends do."

"Friends?" Pakura arched her eyebrow. Not even that was trimmed, Iru noticed. Pakura clearly didn't care about her appearance.

"Well…maybe I could start…?" Pakura got up and walked away dejectedly.

Perfect.

0000

The next day, when Iru was called for a sparring match – this time with kunai, she didn't expect Pakura to volunteer so quickly.

Iru at first was annoyed when Pakura clearly toyed with her. Not exactly fighting her, but coming in for rapid strikes that Iru blocked fairly easily enough. Iru ended up chasing after Pakura most of the time, with the other girl constantly dodging.

Iru stumbled a bit when a wave of tiredness inexplicably hit her. She blinked a few times, brushing away the sweat. Why wasn't Pakura as tired? She'd been running around just as much as she was, if not more!

Iru didn't stand a chance when Pakura overpowered her in seconds – and to add insult to injury, she broke Iru's arm.

"You're starving yourself of essential nutrients, and pretty much admitted as such." Pakura said coldly. "You have no strength, no endurance, and brittle bones as a result. Guess it's a good thing I'm so _fat _and _manly._"

Pakura marched off to the side, leaving the other girls to stare at her.

"T-that was…r-re-re..really cool, Pakura-chan." Hinata had been given a hard time by Iru more than once. Her shyness and clumsiness were often picked at.

Pakura glanced at Hinata and nodded.

Iru was humiliated to say the least, and dropped out of the Academy a few days later. Iruka figured it was probably better for her to quit then, rather than be given the false hope of being placed on a team or outright rejected.

The other girls, minus Hinata, now avoided Pakura. They mostly talked about her in whispers – and expected Pakura to care.

0000

Today was the day! Team announcements! There was a nervous energy in the air as Iruka announced the teams.

"Pakura, Hōzuki Suigetsu, and Uchiha Sasuke, you're Team Seven. Congratulations. We're expecting great things from you."

Everyone stared. At that moment, Kurenai stuck her head into the room. "Team Seven? You're with me."

"We're here, Sensei!" Pakura practically dragged Suigetsu with her, ignoring his protests. "We have to step it up now that it's official, Hōzuki!"

Sasuke paused briefly to grab Suigetsu's sword that had gotten left behind from Pakura's rushing him out the door.

Sasuke didn't look back at the other students even once; as if he were hoping for a different team placement. Sakura wished he would have at least acted a bit disappointed.

Sakura, along with a several others, hadn't been placed on teams. They hadn't been told to leave, but instead to stay put. Sakura felt bitter resentment and hurt.

It wasn't fair.

0000

Kurenai stood before her team, hand on her hip.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves before we start?"

Pakura stood to her feet with her hands at her sides. She stood stiffly as if she had a board strapped to her back.

"Good morning, Sensei! I'm Pakura. I intend to fully master at least ten different Jutsu by the time I'm fifteen. I'm also honing my fighting skills to be more effective on the battlefield. I'm training several hours a day daily so that I will be the most useful to the advancement of the village and this team."

"…Okay." Kurenai was a bit taken aback by Pakura's intensity. "Thank you. You can sit down…next?"

Suigetsu looked bored. "I'm Hozuki Suigetsu. Swordsman. I wanna be inducted into the Seven Swordsmen someday." He shrugged. His inclusion would involve one of them having to die; and a Sword recognizing his skill. "If I can't, I'll at least rival them in strength and skill."

"Uchiha Sasuke. I want to master all Fire Jutsu, and create my own. I want to activate my Sharingan by the time I'm fifteen." There, easy enough.

"Very well." Kurenai nodded and she pulled out an alarm clock from a scroll. "Alright. I want to see how well you work together as a unit. We're going to spar for…let's say forty minutes. Let's see how well you can work together in that time."

Pakura looked determined.

Suigetsu looked fierce.

Sasuke looked calculating.

Suigetsu was the first to rush forward. He swiped at Kurenai with his sword, and Kurenai faded out like a mirage.

"What the-?!" Suigetsu was shoved facedown into the dirt.

Kurenai dodged flames, and she smirked as she disappeared again.

"You idiot!" Sasuke yelled as he rushed towards Suigetsu. He pulled the other boy up by the back of his shirt. "Kurenai-Sensei is a Genjutsu specialist! We can't just rush her like that!"

"Get off!" Suigetsu pulled away. "How was I supposed to know?"

"It's called _talking!" _the level of sarcasm in Sasuke's voice was impressive.

"Less talking and more fighting!" Pakura yelled as she got between the boys and Kurenai, who was rushing at them. Pakura swiveled into a kick, and Kurenai grabbed her leg and spun Pakura around. Pakura most humiliatingly, was used as a bat to hit both boys.

Suigetsu was able to liquefy himself, while Sasuke was knocked to the ground. He instinctively held onto Pakura so she wouldn't get hurt when they fell.

"Dammit," Suigetsu grumbled as he pulled himself up. "That does it!"

Suigetsu's arm expanded as he swung his sword at Kurenai, and Sasuke let out another burst of flame, while Pakura released a volley of shuriken.

Kurenai's clothing was only slightly singed, but she got out of it via Shunshin.

She appeared behind Pakura, and the girl flipped backwards to block Kurenai's kick. Pakura then wrapped her legs around Kurenai's – managing to trap her. Seconds counted in this sort of scenario.

Suigetsu pointed his expanded limb at Kurenai.

"_Mizudeppo no Jutsu!"_

His arm slowly returned to its normal size as all the water in his limb flowed to his finger. A bullet of water shot towards Kurenai. Suigetsu was nearly knocked off of his feet from the force of it. The shot was near the size of a Human head, and Kurenai certainly didn't want to get hit by one of those.

Sasuke took advantage as well, striking at her with a kunai. Kurenai was able to pull herself out at the last moment – and switched herself with Sasuke, who fell the ground in a heap.

"Well, that was graceful." Suigetsu muttered.

"I don't want to hear it." Sasuke groaned as he stood. His ego was certainly bruised.

"Well, you aren't that impressive for an Uchiha! You're barely even doing anything!"

"At least I'm not falling for her tricks unlike you." Sasuke replied, purposely keeping his voice level.

Suigetsu glared at him. "Well at least I can back up the Hōzuki name, unlike you, _Uchiha."_

There were practically sparks between the two boys as they outright glared at each other.

"We can do this!" Pakura said, forcing them to pay attention to the situation at hand. "We were chosen for a reason, so we have to work together on this! I _will_ not let Suna or Konoha down!"

Pakura formed several marble-sized glowing balls of fire. _"Shakuton! Hotaru-dan!"_

Kurenai dodged most of the projectiles, but a few did hit her arm, side, and cheek. It was incredibly painful, and that was an understatement. Her wounds weren't exactly burns; but rather dehydration.

Sasuke saw his opening, and lashed out with another Fireball Jutsu. This was something he'd been working on by himself. Cupping his hands around his mouth, and not using the usual small ring; Sasuke was able to channel even more chakra into the technique.

The resulting fireball engulfed the area.

"Hey, watch it!" Suigetsu yelled. He may have been fire-resistant, but that didn't mean he wanted to get burned.

Sasuke gave him a _look_ out of the corner of his eye that annoyed Suigetsu for some reason. It _had_ to be an insult!

Suigetsu ran around the massive fire, watching and waiting.

He saw Kurenai dodging out of the flames. Jumping and spinning through the air, water practically exploded out of Suigetsu's sword.

"_Mizu no Chenso!" _

The water tore through the trees and ground; whatever came into contact with it. Instead of Kurenai, though – it was Pakura. Her screams filled his ears, and her blood was everywhere…hadn't he…? Suigetsu stood frozen. He was positive that Pakura was on the other side of the flames…now, he wasn't so sure.

A jolt of energy went through him, and Suigetsu found himself looking at Sasuke.

"Stop falling for her tricks, idiot."

Suigetsu looked downright annoyed. "I didn't! I was just surprised, that's all! Just watch and learn!"

Suigetsu took off running towards Kurenai.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that response. "The only thing I'll learn from you is how to fall for obvious traps."

Suigetsu turned briefly to flip Sasuke off. In annoyance, Sasuke briefly questioned if this was punishment for something.

Kurenai found herself having to block and fight back against Pakura, who was near-relentless with her kunai.

Pakura froze for only a few seconds under one of Kurenai's Genjutsu; and she was out of it in less than two seconds to continue her onslaught. The girl was incredibly perceptive – and getting out of a Genjutsu single-handedly was impressive.

Kurenai had to dodge an attack from Suigetsu, who came at her from behind. Suigetsu was spinning rapidly. _"Suisha no Jutsu!"_

A massive wheel of water surrounded him and his sword, slicing through the ground and ripping through tree branches.

Sasuke was right behind him, heading towards the only direction Kurenai could realistically go. Pakura suddenly charged at her from the other side.

Kurenai dodged a thrown kunai from Sasuke - and substituted herself with a log.

"What…?" Kurenai questioned when she heard a sound. She had an exploding tag attached to her. Huh…she smirked in approval. It seemed that Sasuke had made a clone, and she'd been focused on dodging. Pakura must have noticed the clone – and Suigetsu, whether he'd intended to or not, had also provided a decent distraction.

Kurenai disarmed the tag, just as the alarm went off.

The kids looked tired, and Kurenai clapped her hands.

"I can tell you right now, that you kids are skilled. Once you were actually working together, that made you a near, unstoppable force. The way Suigetsu and Sasuke teamed up at the last moment – and how Pakura kept my attention, that's how I want you to be at all times."

Suigetsu made a face. "We teamed up?"

"You were the perfect distraction." Sasuke replied. "You're very good at that…Dobe."

"Dobe? _Dobe?!" _Suigetsu was riled up. "That's rich. At least my hair doesn't look like a duck's butt!"

Sasuke frowned and reached up towards his hair. His flat response was, "My hair doesn't look like a duck's butt."

Suigetsu snorted. "Yeah, it does. The next duck you see just might fall in love and try to screw it."

The two boys glared as their foreheads were pressed together.

Pakura pulled at Suigetsu's shirt to get the boys' attention back on their Sensei.

Pakura scratched her cheek. "Er…Sensei? I um…I just didn't want you to run away, I had no idea that Uchiha had a clone."

Kurenai made a face of her own, now. "All of that was unintentional?"

The combined expressions on the kids' faces along with them not meeting her eyes was a resounding confirmation of her question.

Kurenai closed her eyes and pushed a thumb against her temple, trying to relieve her oncoming headache. Alright, so the kids were skilled and _could_ work together – albeit unintentionally. She'd confirm their team status with the Academy, and have them train together until they could work together as a unit - _intentionally_. Kurenai could work with this.

Maybe.

She opened her eyes to see Suigetsu making faces at Sasuke; Sasuke was glaring – just as impressively as any Uchiha worth their salt could. Pakura was telling – more like ordering them to get along since they were on a team now.

"Well, let's go celebrate. My treat."

Suigetsu and Sasuke glared at each other as they walked. A few people actually backed away in fear at the sight of them.

"We would have done a better job if you'd listened to me." Sasuke insisted.

"Yeah, whatever duck-butt."

Sasuke's voice raised just a little. "Stop calling me that!"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun~" Suigetsu mocked with a feminine voice. "You and your duck-butt are so manly~"

Sasuke snarked right back. "You have an unhealthy and strange fascination for butts. Maybe because butts remind you of your face."

Kurenai was considering complaining to Hiruzen for promoting (forcing) her into a Sensei position.

Suigetsu was about to respond, but was cut off.

"Stop arguing you two, this is a time for celebration; not conflict." Pakura said as she got between them. She put her arms over their shoulders. She'd gone through a growth spurt over the past year, so the boys didn't have to lean too much while they walked.

0000

Kurenai had the expression of someone just being entirely done with the situation as Sasuke and Suigetsu argued over how much they could eat; and how much spiciness they could handle.

Suigetsu went into a coughing fit and made himself sick. Sasuke was smirking victoriously, although he was sweating profusely. He was clearly fighting off the desperate need to take several gulps of the complimentary milk the restaurant offered with their spiciest dishes. Pakura was admonishing them for wasting food and Kurenai's money; and exploiting her generosity.

0000

When Sasuke got home that day, he went straight to the kitchen where he could hear people talking. His parents, Itachi, Shisui, and a few other cousins – and an aunt were there.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" his mother greeted happily. "So? Did you get placed on a team?"

"Mom…does my hair look like a duck-butt?"

Mikoto was taken aback. "What?"

Sasuke was about to ask his question again, when Shisui burst out laughing, and even Itachi was smiling in amusement.

"It-it-it really _does!"_ Shisui wheezed out.

"Shisui!" Mikoto scolded. She had always thought Sasuke's hair was cute styled like it was. "Sasuke, your hair—"

"I'm never letting you cut my hair again, mom!" Sasuke yelled and he turned around and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Sasuke-kun!" Mikoto called as Sasuke stomped upstairs to his room and slammed the door. "Aren't you hungry?"

His bedroom door opened briefly. "I already ate with my team!" Sasuke yelled before slamming the door again.

"Oh, he got placed, I'm so happy! I wonder with who, though?"

It would be a good thing that Fugaku was at home when he heard the news of who Sasuke's team members were.

0000

**An Author's Rambles:**

**I decided to make this a bit of a longer chapter, because you lovelies deserve it. **

**A tarantula hawk is a two-inch long spider wasp that preys on tarantulas. Has a nasty sting. Usually won't sting unless provoked – its sting is among the most painful of all insects, though the pain only lasts about five minutes.**

**Iru was coming from a place that she thought Pakura would be insecure about: her appearance, and her attractiveness to men. Iru's own insecurities shine bright. **

**Sakura will have a focus on her next chapter.**

**Iruka is actually incredibly skilled, but he doesn't want to move up a rank, so he purposefully holds himself back. He likes keeping an eye on the future Shinobi that comes through and preparing them for the future.**

**Suigetsu and Sasuke's competitiveness will make Kurenai's hair go gray. Pakura is a glorified babysitter. **

**0000**

**Shakuton! Hotaru-dan – Scorch Release – firefly bullet**

**Suisha no Jutsu – Waterwheel**

**Mizu no Chenso – Water Chainsaw **

**00000**

**Y'all stay safe out there, y'hear! **

**PS: And wash your hands!**


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